


A New Fortune

by MrsTheirin_QueenofFerelden



Series: Uncharted/Dragon Age Crossover [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cousland sisters - Freeform, mercenary au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-08-08 16:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7765675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsTheirin_QueenofFerelden/pseuds/MrsTheirin_QueenofFerelden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan Drake decides that, since he inevitably goes up against people who want to kill him, he needs some extra help when going after treasure. He hires two guys, both ex-military, to travel with him and Victor Sullivan on their adventures.<br/>Add a couple of reporters and one smart-arse camerawoman and Drake begins to wonder if it was all worth it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Uncharted or Dragon Age characters - I just like to play. 
> 
> Warning: This work contains spoilers for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It follows the game, with one or two tweaks thanks to my introducing characters to the original storyline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the finishing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.  
> ~Sir Francis Drake, 1587

Nathan Drake was shit out of luck. Again. He’d lost count of how many times he’d had to run away from a small army of gunmen and mercenaries, ducking and dodging bullets whilst firing a few shots of his own and praying they’d hit. It didn’t matter where he was, what he was doing – they were always there, and always after him. God knows why he’d let Sully talk him into this, all those years ago. He should’ve known better, especially after all the shit Sam got him into. Hell, he’d only been a kid. He should’ve been ogling cars, or admiring girls, not breaking into mansions to steal diaries. Drake banged his head against the boulder. _Yeah, well life turns to shit. Get over yourself and shoot these bastards. Have your little breakdown after you save your ass._  Clicking the last rounds in, he leaned back, breathing slowly, listening. There were at least five left. One breathing heavily to his right, the other four hidden carefully behind crumbling pillars.

God, he hoped he had enough.

He leapt to his feet, taking aim to his right and firing before the man could react. _One down_. He ducked behind the boulder as a volley of shots flew through the air around him. _Shit._ _Shouldn’t have drawn attention to myself._ He snorted. _Yeah, just let them find you behind the big fucking rock they all know you’re hiding behind. Don’t bother taking them out – die quietly, like a good boy._ He risked a look around the boulder in time to see more men dropping from the upper levels of the ruin. _Great. Just fucking great._ He had four damn bullets left. Four. _Divided by twenty men equals… let’s see, add the one….Dead Nate._

He looked again, trying to see a way around the advancing line. There, if he took out the ones on the left, he might be able to make it through that gap in the wall and push through the crumbling stones before they shot him to pieces. Maybe.

It was the only chance. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. _Here goes nothing_. He leapt, running behind the pillar on his left, tackling two men and knocking them senseless, shooting two more as they swung round. Two bullets left. He dropped and rolled before leaping to his feet and racing through the gap, dodging as they all fired. _Shit that was close_. He glanced around, looking for the next step. There wasn’t one. He was trapped in a small cell, the only window far too small for him to even try to squeeze through. He spun, looking for a way out, a weapon, anything. Nothing. Two fucking bullets against an army.

He could hear them shouting to one another, knew they had to be signalling to move in, finish him off. Drake shook his head and moved to crouch by the door. Maybe he could take them out one by one, hand to hand. _Yeah, and maybe Jackie Fucking Chan will swing out of nowhere and save your ass._

The ground rocked suddenly, shuddering as something thudded into the ground outside. Drake ducked, covering his head as tiny stones rained down from the rickety ceiling. Shouts turned to screams as another explosion hit, much closer this time. Shots fired, manically, uncontrolled, scared. A third explosion, then silence.

Drake uncovered his head and got slowly to his feet. Keeping the gun steady, he moved cautiously towards the door. A familiar smell curled its way into the cell as a figure strolled into view, an RPG sitting casually on his shoulder.

“Jesus, kid. You sure know how to get yourself in the shit.”

Drake smiled and lowered the gun. “Nah, just giving you a workout, old man.”

Sully huffed and swung the RPG off his shoulder. “Watch it with the old man part. I just saved your ass.”

“Good to see you, Sully.”

“Yeah, yeah. How come this always happens to you?”

“What?”

“This.” Sully waved a hand at the burning craters, the mercenaries no more than charred pieces scattered around. “I take my eye off you for one goddamn second and the next minute you’re taunting a whole army with only a handful of bullets to back you up!”

Drake laughed and clapped the older man on the shoulder. “Dunno. Maybe I should get myself some body guards.”

Sully sighed and shook his head. “Y’know kid, that’s the smartest thing you’ve said your entire life.” He glanced around. “Sooner rather than later, Nate. I’m too old for this crap.”

“What happened to _watch the old man part_?”

“I aged suddenly.”

“Aw it’ll be fine.”

“First thing when we get back, I’m hiring you some mercenaries of your own.”

“Funny.”

“I’m serious.”

“Yeah yeah, you’re always serious when you’re about to run out of cigars.”


	2. Recruitment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a guide so everyone's on the same page:  
> Drake - 27 years old  
> Elena - 25 years old  
> Alistair and Michaela - both 24 years old  
> Cullen - 23 years old  
> Brianna - 20 years old
> 
> Quick Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dragon Age or Uncharted characters - I just like to play :)

Alistair swung his bag onto the bottom bunk. He glanced up at the top bunk, briefly wondering about his cabin mate. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair before rummaging in the bag for the wedge of cheese he knew he’d stashed in there. _Why had Duncan got in touch, and sent him on this crazy trip?_ He hadn’t heard from the old commander in years, not since he’d left the Warden troop and joined the civilian police force. He’d only been nineteen at the time, but three years had been enough of death and violence. Or so he’d thought. He had to admit, policing had seemed boring. Nice, at first but after a while it was all the same. Day in, day out with nothing ever really happening. Maybe it would have been different if he’d gone to the city, instead of a small town. Perhaps not. They still had burglaries and meth labs in the city. It would’ve just been more paperwork.

And then, Duncan had called. Out of the blue. _Great opportunity,_ he’d said. _Hear the guy out._ And so, when the old man with the red shirt, grey moustache and stinking cigars walked through the door, Alistair had sat, and listened, hearing him out as promised.

The door swung open as a tall man with carefully styled blond hair shouldered his way into the room, a bulging bag gripped in his hands. His brown eyes scanned the room, taking in Alistair with the wedge of cheese in one hand and his bag already on the bottom bunk. He shut the door behind him and swung his bag onto the top bunk. Alistair cleared his throat and offered his empty hand.

“Alistair Theirin. Guess we’re supposed to be cell-mates.”

  
The man took his hand, shaking it briefly before he frowned. “Sorry, what?”

  
Alistair grinned. “Cell-mates. You know, stuck together in a tiny room, no way out, long freezing nights. Might have to ask favours.”

“I…I’m sorry, I don’t….I’m not…it’s fine if _you_ are but….”

Alistair raised an eyebrow. “I was only gonna ask if I could borrow a sweater. I forgot mine. And seeing as how we’re about the same size…”

  
His companion stared before rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “Oh, I’m sorry…I just….didn’t know…”

Alistair shrugged. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed but for someone who’s busy trying to tell me he’s not gay, you’re still holding my hand.”

The man snatched his hand back, blushing a bright red as he glared. “I’m not gay.”

“Neither am I. I’m just messing with you.” Alistair glanced at the bunks. “I hope you don’t mind me claiming the bottom bunk.”

“No, I-”

“I just didn’t want to roll out in the middle of the night and scare the hell out of you.”

“Somehow, I don’t think you’ll scare me.”

“ _That’s_ because I’m on the bottom bunk, with less distance to fall, and therefore have less noise to make.”

The stranger eyed him for a second. Alistair grinned and waved the cheese-bearing hand. “Don’t worry, you’ll soon get used to me. Or try to drown me. Everybody does.”  
He turned back to the bag and pulled out another wedge of cheese, the man watching him incredulously.

“How…how much cheese do you _have_ in there?”

Alistair glanced over his shoulder. “Enough to share if you want some, er….say, what _is_ your name?”

“My name?”

  
“Yeah, you know, that strange thing people yell at you to get your attention? You never told me in amongst all the denial.”

“Oh, uh,” the man rubbed the back of his neck again. “It’s Cullen. Cullen Stanton Rutherford.”

“Gotta have the middle name, huh?”

  
“No! I mean….no.”

“So do I call you Cullen Stanton? Or Cullen Stanton Rutherford? Or Mr Rutherford? Or…”

“Cullen. Just Cullen will be fine.”

  
“Alright, Cullen, Just Cullen.”

  
“God, do you always talk this much?”

  
“Yup.”

“Jesus…”

“No, Alistair.”

Cullen sighed. It was going to be a long trip.

….

Up on deck, Drake was busy trying not to frown as the small blonde in front of him kept talking.

“…Now, are you absolutely sure that this is Sir Francis Drake’s coffin from when he was buried at sea? Because our viewers want to see the real thing.”

“Even a dead body?” he asked.

Elena frowned at him. “We may edit out the body. Some viewers are…sensitive.”

  
“If they’re so sensitive, why are they watching us open a coffin that’s been in the sea for four hundred years?”

  
“For the _history._ ”

“That body’s gonna be history. Ba dum dum tssh.”

  
Elena stared at him as he mimed the drum kit. “Did you…seriously just…”

Drake grinned sheepishly. “Yeah. Thought the joke needed it.”

  
“Call that a joke?”

  
At the sound of the new voice, Drake and Elena turned to see a girl with long brown hair striding up the gangway, camera bag swinging from her shoulder. Behind her, hauling a couple of bags, was a slightly older girl, her blonde hair plaited and hanging over her shoulder. The brunette stopped in front of Drake.

“How much does a polar bear weigh?” She looked expectantly between Drake and Elena whilst the blonde behind her leaned on the railings looking amused. Drake glanced at Elena then back at the brunette.

“Ok, how much?” he asked.

“Enough to break the ice.” She stuck out a hand, grinning as Elena started to laugh. “And _that’s_ a joke.”

Drake took the offered hand, shaking it a couple of times. “Good one. And you are?”

  
“Brianna Cousland,” she answered. “I may or may not shoot you.”

“Excuse me?”

  
“With my camera.” She patted the bag at her side. “I’m here to capture your moment of glory. And no, that doesn’t mean I’m here to film you with whoever you decide to shag. That’s definitely _not_ a moment of glory…for anyone.”

Elena jumped in as Drake stared open-mouthed. “She’s my camera operator, here to film everything for the program.”

Drake glanced at her. “Right, and who’s that?” He jerked his head towards the other girl.

“ _That_ would be my sister, Michaela,” Brianna answered. “And really, don’t get on her bad side. She’ll shoot you.”

“Let me guess, with your camera?”

“No, with a gun, smartarse.”

“….ok. So what’s her role here?”

“She can speak for herself,” Michaela announced as she came over. Drake shook her hand, taking in the similarities between the two, although Michaela was slightly shorter than Brianna and pale compared to her sister’s tan.

“Had to fill in for you whilst you caught your breath from walking up that plank,” Brianna laughed.

“I wasn’t catching my breath. I was trying not to laugh at you.”  
“Don’t you mean _with_ me.”

“No, definitely _at_ you.”

Drake glanced between the two of them before looking at Elena for help. She smiled. “Michaela is my co-host, and also a bit of a historian. She’ll know if you spin a load of bullshit.”

Drake turned to Michaela. “Actual historian or read a bunch of crap on Wikipedia?”

  
She grinned. “Actual historian. Studied Sir Francis before getting into journalism.”

“So you know everything there is to know about him, huh?”

  
Michaela shrugged. “I know some, but there is always more to learn. Which is why we’re here with you.”

  
“Well, in that case, I guess we should get going.” Drake glanced at Elena. “Could you just duck below decks and let the others know we’re about to leave?”

Elena nodded and made her way over to the hatch. Drake turned back to Michaela and Brianna.

“Follow Elena and she’ll show you where your cabin is. Hope you two don’t mind sharing.”

“So long as I get the top bunk, I’m good,” Brianna grinned.

Michaela rolled her eyes before grabbing the bags again. “You can have it. I hate the top bunk.”

 

….

 

Coming out of their cabin, Michaela walked smack into a broad chest. “Jesus!”

“No, Alistair.”

From the open cabin behind him came a groan. Michaela peered around the stranger to see a blond man squeeze his way out past them and stride off down the corridor, muttering something about cheese brained nitwits. She glanced back up to see a pair of amber brown eyes smirking down at her.

“Sorry?”

He grinned and held out a hand. “I’m Alistair. Cheese-loving mercenary. And you are?”

She frowned as she took it. “Michaela. Historian. Nice to meet you.”

He stepped back slightly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. She moved away from the door, mirroring his actions.

“So, you’re a mercenary?” she asked.

  
“ _Cheese-loving_ mercenary. Although, if we’re getting all technical, my job description says I’m actually a bodyguard hired to save Drake from himself.”

  
“Does he need saving?”

“All the time apparently.”

  
“And that guy who just left…?”

  
Alistair stood straight and placed a hand over his heart. “That would be our good Mr Cullen Stanton Rutherford.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “He prefers it when you call him by his full name.”

Michaela raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  
“No.”

“Is he a mercenary too?”

He shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. I assume he is, although all I’ve managed to get out of him is that he’s definitely not gay. And won’t lend me a sweater.”

  
“Not gay?”

“Vehemently not.”

  
“But…you are?”

  
“Uh, why would you think that?”

  
“Because the first thing you found out is whether or not he’s gay.”

Alistair laughed. “I just wanted to know if he was gonna _proposition_ me one night when he’s feeling particularly lonely. That would’ve been awkward.”

  
“So, you’re not gay?”

  
“Nope. Straight as a … well I want to say lamp post but that could sound bad.”

Michaela nodded, trying to keep the smile off her face. “Yes, I can see how it would.”

Alistair pushed himself off the wall. “Right, well. Guess I’ll see you up on deck. Unless you want to stay down here.” He started off down the passage towards the hatch, his head almost brushing the ceiling. “You know, one good thing about money is that it brings all sorts of people together,” he said over his shoulder.

  
Michaela watched as he climbed the ladder to the deck and smiled. “I know exactly what you mean.”

….

Up on the deck, Brianna was leaning casually against the railing, watching Elena arguing with Drake. His blond bodyguard stood quietly watching the altercation. The one with brownish hair was checking the contents of a chest, trying to hide his smirk.

Brianna glanced over as Michaela made her way onto the deck and came over to lean next to her.

“They’re still arguing?” she asked incredulously.

“Yup.”

Michaela glanced back at her sister. “Don’t have much to say, B?”

Brianna laughed. “What _can_ I say? You know that when she gets going there’s no stopping her. Not even the sky breaking open and the world ending would stop Elena getting her point across.”

They watched for a moment as Elena squared up to Drake, her hands on her hips. There was such a contrast between the pair, her with her light hair and skin, him tanned with dark hair, laughing down into her furious face as she glared up at him.

“What are they even arguing about?” Michaela asked.

Her sister shrugged. “You know, I’m not even sure anymore. I’ve kinda lost interest.”

“Too busy ogling, huh?”

Brianna laughed. “You got me.” She nudged Michaela, who glanced at the two men behind Drake. “But then, I’m not the only one.” Nodding towards them, she asked, “Which one would you go for?”

Michaela grinned. “Not really a tough choice.”

“Oh no?”

“The taller one, definitely. There’s something about broad shoulders and strong arms…”

“Uggh, I don’t need to know your fantasies!” Brianna glanced over to where the two men now stood side by side, watching the altercation. “How tall do you think he is, anyway?”

“I don’t know…” Michaela shrugged. “Maybe …6’3”? 6’4”? Taller than Cullen.”

“Not by much. And how do you know his name?”

 “I bumped into the taller one – Alistair - as I was coming out of the cabin. He told me.” Michaela cut a look to Brianna. “So, which would you go for?”

  
“Well…” Brianna watched the two men for a moment. “Cullen. Yeah, Cullen for sure.”

  
“Really?”

“Yeah. There’s something…intriguing about him. Like that scar on his lip.” She smirked. “Not to mention he’s hot. Like, majorly attractive.”

“Hmm, I get it, B.”

“Pffft, you’re just glad I’m not after your man.”

“ _My_ man?”

“Come on, you can barely drag your eyes away from him.”

Michaela blushed and turned quickly to look back towards the shore. “I…don’t know what you mean.”

Brianna grinned at her. “Bullshit.”

They turned to look as, with an exasperated groan, Elena flung her hands up and walked over to them, leaving Drake grinning on the other side of the deck.

“I give up,” she exclaimed. “There is no reasoning with that man!”

Brianna glanced across at Drake. “Why?”

  
“Because he doesn’t want us to film the coffin now! That’s the whole point of this damn trip! We funded his little search so that in return we could film the coffin!”

“You know, I think he might just be messing with you,” Michaela said. “He knows he can’t pull that kind of stunt and get away with it.”

Elena eyed her. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“Well, look at it this way: why the hell would he pull something like that while we’re still in port and nowhere near the coffin’s location, knowing that we could walk right off this boat and pull all the funding? We could go back to the office, cancel the hire of the boat and effectively cut his expedition off at the knees, and there wouldn’t be a damned thing he could do about it.” Michaela crossed her arms. “So yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s just messing with you.”

“Ok, ok,” Elena held up her hands. “I get it. He was just winding me up.”

Brianna looked thoughtful. “You know, based on the idea that we’re technically in charge, you could punch him and get away with it.”  
The other two stared at her. She glanced at them sideways and widened her eyes. “What?”

“Are you…serious?” Elena asked. 

“That depends.”

“On what?”

  
“How much you want to hit him.”

Elena glanced back across to where Drake leaned nonchalantly against the railing, still grinning at them. “At the moment? I could gladly tip him into the water and walk away singing.”


	3. Ambushed

“Are you sure you want to be defiling your ancestors remains like that?” Elena asked.

Drake flashed her a grin. “You make it sound so dirty.”

He laughed as he moved to the other side of the coffin. Trailing water and rust, it didn’t look like it could hold the secrets to Sir Francis Drake’s life and death. Brianna exchanged a glance with Michaela, moving the camera closer as she tried to find a good angle for when it was finally pried open.

Michaela shrugged. “It certainly looks like the drawings of Sir Francis’ coffin. Guess we just have to open it up and see the man himself,” she said.

Brianna raised an eyebrow. “Not that there’s gonna be much left of him.”

Elena frowned and Brianna ducked her head, raising a hand in mocking deference. “Sorry, sorry, camera operator:   _silent_ job. Got it.” She flicked a switch and focussed the camera on Elena. “Annnd… we’re rolling.”

Elena smiled into the lens. “I’m here off the coast of Panama where we’ve just recovered what we believe to be the coffin of legendary explorer Sir Francis Drake who was buried at sea over four hundred years ago.”

Drake, standing by the coffin, snorted. “I thought you didn’t believe me.”

  
Elena, still smiling, turned to him. “Well, I did do my research.”

Brianna coughed suddenly. Elena glanced over at Michaela then back to the camera. “Uh, _we_ did our research. And it all points to this spot.”

Michaela rolled her eyes as Brianna stifled a laugh. Drake moved across the deck to rummage in a bin for a crowbar. Elena watched him for a moment.

“So, you claim to be one of his descendants?”

Drake glanced at her briefly before continuing to rummage. “Yup.”

  
“Well, according to my – our – research, Sir Francis didn’t have any children.”

  
He grinned as he pulled out a crowbar and turned to her. Smirking, he strode back to the coffin. “History can be wrong, you know.” Without waiting for a reply, he shoved the crowbar into the coffin and prised it open. “For example,” he grinned, “you can’t defile an empty coffin.”

Elena gasped as they all stepped towards the coffin, Brianna focusing on the empty interior.

Elena spun to Michaela. “What the hell?” she spluttered. “Is this even Sir Francis’?”

  
Michaela crouched down, running her hand over the wet metal, tracing the intricate details wrought on its surface. She nodded. “Everything about it is exactly as history describes.”

Elena shot Drake a filthy look. “Yeah well _history can be wrong_.”

“I don’t think so.” Michaela shook her head. “This is definitely authentic. The only thing missing is Sir Francis himself.”

  
“I hadn’t noticed.” Elena’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

Michaela ignored her, running a hand round the inside of the coffin. Drake eyed her for a moment, before shoving his hand in front of hers.

“Woah, now come on. No defiling the ancestors.”

  
She frowned at him. “As you pointed out before, you can’t defile an empty coffin. There are no _ancestors_ in here.”

“Well, yeah, but the _idea_ of defiling…”

Michaela snorted before reaching back in, her fingers brushing against a metal box right at the end.

“Now what do we have – hey!”

  
Drake grabbed the tin. “My expedition, sweetheart.”

“Not your finding though!”

  
“Technically it is. I found the coffin for you.”

  
Brianna cut in. “Uh guys? Keep it civil – camera’s still rolling.”

Drake ignored them, turning away and opening the tin. Pulling out a diary, he flipped through it and grinned. “You devil.”

  
“What is it?” Elena asked. “Come on, hold it up for the camera.”

  
Drake glanced at her before turning and covering the camera lens with his hand. “No, no, no. The deal was for a coffin, that’s it.” He pointed down. “There’s your coffin.”

“Wait a minute, if my show hadn’t funded this expedition, you wouldn’t have…”

Drake held up a hand. “Hey, hey…you got your story, lady.”

  
Elena put her hands on her hips. “Look, Mr Drake, you signed a contract. I have a right to see every single thing that - ”

At that moment Alistair, who’d been leaning against the railing behind the camera, stepped forward. “Drake.”

  
“What?”

  
Alistair jerked his head towards port and turned to open a chest, pulling out a couple of rifles and handing one to Cullen. He paused as he took in the greenish tinge of the other man’s face.

“You okay?”

  
Cullen nodded tightly. “Fine.”

“Seasick?”

He bobbed his head once in a sharp nod before moving away from Alistair’s questions. Drake glanced out over the ocean, swearing slightly as he walked over to grab a walkie-talkie.

“Sully? Uh, we got some trouble. Hurry it up.”

Elena glanced at Michaela and Brianna before hurrying over to Drake. “Okay, what’s going on?”

  
He bent to pull a case out of the chest. “Uh, pirates.”

  
“Pirates?!”

He grabbed a couple of pistols and started loading them. “Yeah, the modern kind. They don’t take prisoners.” He paused and glanced at the three women. “…least not male prisoners.”

Elena frowned. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

Brianna nudged her and pointed out to sea. Several motorboats were racing towards them. “I think he’s talking about them.”

  
“Way to state the obvious,” Michaela muttered.

“One of my many talents.”

“Shouldn’t we, uh,” Elena said turning back to Drake, “call the authorities or something?”

  
He shrugged, shoving extra ammo into his pockets. “That’d be a great idea, but we don’t exactly have a permit to be out here.” He chuckled nervously. Everyone stopped and stared at him. He glanced around before turning back to the ammo. “Yeah, so unless you want to end up in a Panamanian jail, we should probably handle this ourselves.”

Cullen and Alistair exchanged glances before shaking their heads and loading the rifles. Elena still stared at Drake.

“Wh…what’s worse?” she stammered.

Drake chuckled slightly. “You obviously haven’t been in a Panamanian jail.” He held up a gun. “Do you know how to use one of these?”

  
She took it gingerly. “Yeah, it’s like a camera…just point and shoot, right?”

  
“Good girl.”

Michaela glanced across at Alistair. “Uh, are we gonna get a gun each or something?”

  
He eyed her for a moment before handing her a pistol. “Can you shoot straight?”

  
She quickly loaded the gun, the weight familiar in her hand. Brianna did the same with the one Cullen handed her. They stood ready, Michaela raising an eyebrow as the two men stared at them.

“What?”

  
Alistair shook his head. “It’s just…nothing.”

Drake surveyed them all. “Right, here we go.”

  
They ducked behind the various crates and bins, Drake crouching behind the coffin, as the pirates drew close to the boat.

“How’d they find us out here?” Elena asked.

“These guys have been tailing me for weeks,” Drake replied. “I thought I’d lost them.”

  
Brianna glanced over. “What’d you do to piss them off?”

“Uh, it’s kind of a long story.”

She took aim, shooting one of the pirates as he made to dive and swim to their boat.

“One down, too many to go,” she crowed. Cullen glanced at her as she shot two more. She noticed and shrugged. “We lived on a farm.”

“Where there were so many pirates to fight off?”

  
“No. Turkeys.”

“…right.”

“Hey, they were nasty little – duck!”

He swung around and ducked just in time for her to shoot the pirate bearing down on him. Somehow, they’d managed to get on board, Drake and Elena shouting at each other as they tried to shoot, Michaela and Alistair taking out all the ones they missed. Cullen fired off a couple of shots as more pirates clambered up the sides of the boat.

“Nice,” Brianna said as two more fell back into the water. “Did you grow up with turkeys too?”

He flicked her a glance. “No, I-” He grabbed her suddenly and shoved her down just as a bullet bit into the deck behind her. Getting to her feet, she looked at the chip out of the wood.

“Thanks.” Reaching around Cullen, she took aim again while he fired at the circling motorboats.

Drake glanced over. “Less talking, more shooting!”

She glared at him. “This from the man who can’t seem to hit a fucking barn wall from a millimetre away!”

“Hey! I’ll have you know-”

“ _Less talking, more shooting,_ Drake. Or can’t you see the bastard behind you?” Brianna aimed and shot, neatly taking out the pirate as he climbed on board behind Drake.

He glanced at the dead man, then back at Brianna’s raised eyebrow. He shrugged. “Fine. Just get on with it.”

More and more pirates were climbing on board, a never ending line of them just waiting to kill Drake. They kept coming, and ammo supplies were starting to run low. First Elena’s, then Alistair’s gun ran out. It didn’t stop him though. Whilst Elena ducked behind another crate to wait out the fight, Alistair moved quickly to the railing, grabbing pirates as they climbed, knocking them out and dumping them back in the water. Michaela kept him covered, firing at any who got too close or were taking aim. On the other side of the boat, Brianna and Cullen fired back to back, falling into an easy rhythm with one covering the other while they reloaded.

Drake spun around as Elena shrieked “oh, my god! That one’s got some kind of rocket launcher!” He eyed the boat now circling them, the launcher locked onto their launch.

‘Whoa, okay, that’s not good.” He cast around for something, anything to defend them. A droning filled the air just as the pirate fired. They all looked up to see a seaplane fly overhead.

“Whoo! Alright Sully!” Drake cheered. He glanced around the boat as flames erupted all over the deck. “Uh, I don’t think I’m getting my security deposit back.” He waved to the others. “Hey guys! Cavalry’s here!”

“We hadn’t noticed!” Brianna shouted back.

“Yeah, well any smartasses get left behind with these bastards.”

  
The fire raced towards the fuel tanks. Cullen frowned and gestured to Drake. “Come on, we have to move.”

Drake swore. “Ah, dammit! Whole ship’s gonna blow! We have to jump!”

They ran to the side, Drake heaving Elena overboard before jumping after her. Michaela swung around, looking for Brianna. She spotted her sister grabbing the camera off a crate before Alistair grabbed her and swung her over the side into the water. She surfaced in time to see Cullen do the same to Brianna before the two men leapt. Brianna spluttered to the surface, hand holding the camera high.

“Come on! Go! Go!” Drake yelled.

They swam towards the plane, clambering onto the floats as Sully opened the cabin door.

“Can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?”

Drake glanced up at him. “I had everything under control…until they blew up the boat.”

Sully laughed and lowered a ladder into the water. Elena made her way over and climbed into the cabin. She gave Drake a sideways look as he shrugged.

“You okay?” he asked her.

“Nothing years of therapy won’t fix.” She took Sully’s outstretched hand and let him haul her the rest of the way into the cabin.

“Well, if it isn’t the beautiful and talented Elena Fisher.”

  
She smiled. “Flattery will get you screen time.”

  
Sully shrugged. “Yeah, I’m more of a behind the scenes kind of guy. Victor Sullivan.”

He kissed her hand as Brianna climbed into the cabin. She stared at them for a second before rolling her eyes and muttering as she checked her camera. Alistair was next, reaching down to help Michaela before moving to sit across the cabin. Cullen climbed in, hauling Drake up and slamming the door shut as Sully readied the plane for take-off.

Brianna looked up from her camera. “Well, that went well.”

Drake laughed and moved to sit in the co-pilots seat. “Whaddya say we get out of here before we attract any more attention?”

“Legal or illegal?” she quipped.

“Both!”

Sully eased the plane into take-off, everyone relaxing as they left the pirates behind. Drake sat back in his seat and grinned. Sully glanced at him.

“Well?”

Drake held up the diary. “A little present from Sir Francis.”

  
Sully laughed. “So you found the coffin? Wait a minute – is this what I think it is?”

“Drake’s lost diary. He faked his death, just like I said, Sully. He must’ve been onto something big.”

Sully glanced behind him and lowered his voice. “Yeah, well, let’s just keep that between us.”

…

 

Later that day, Drake and the other men stood in the cabin of a new boat, bent over a table of maps and diagrams. Outside, Elena paced on the dock while Michaela and Brianna stood with their arms crossed, watching her impassively. Drake eyed them for a moment before turning to the others.

“So look, when Sir Francis sailed into the Pacific he took the Spanish Fleet completely by surprise. He captured their ships, he took all their maps, their letters, their journals...” he tapped the battered book on the table. “…and recorded everything in this diary.”

Cullen glanced at it. “So this…”

“But when he got back to England,” Drake continued, “Queen Elizabeth confiscated all his charts and logbooks, including this one – and then swore his entire crew to silence.”

Alistair pointed at the diary. “Yeah, so this-”

Drake ignored him. “You see, Sir Francis discovered something on that voyage – something so secret, and so valuable, they couldn’t risk it getting out.”

Sully crossed his arms. “Okay, Nate – just pretend for a second that I don’t really care about any of that stuff and just cut to the chase, wouldya?”

  
“A man only interested in the climax,” Drake laughed. “You must be a real hit with the ladies.”

  
“Never had any complaints.”

“Okay, I’ll jump straight to the good part, just for you.” Drake flipped through the diary, placing it down on the table in front of Sully. They all leaned in to peer at the map.

“El goddamn dorado,” Sully chuckled.

Alistair whistled. “He was onto something big alright.”

“Does it say anything else, Nate?” Sully asked.

Drake snatched the diary back as Sully reached for it, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, so _now_ you’re interested, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, unfortunately, no. The last page was torn out.” He held up the diary to show them the torn page. “I’m telling you, Sully. This is it – this is finally it!”

“Yeah…only, we have one little problem.” Sully motioned to the dock where Elena was still pacing, talking at the other two women. “Make that three problems.”

 

Outside, Elena stopped and faced Michaela.

“So did you see what it was?”

Michaela nodded. “A small book.”

“Well, I saw that much for myself.”

“No need to get snarky. It looked like a journal and, judging by Drake’s reaction, I think it might actually be a long lost diary of Sir Francis’.”

“And where does that get us?”

“Well, there was a theory that Sir Francis actually faked his death in order to pursue something big.”

Elena glanced at the boat where the four men were watching. “How big?”

“Really big. As in big enough to disappear from the world in order to find it.” Michaela spaced her hands apart, about five centimetres. “This is discovering the coffin and finding Sir Francis Drake inside.” She moved her hands much further apart. “This is finding what he thought was worth disappearing for.”

Elena eyed her hands for a moment, glancing back at the cabin where the men were still watching intently.  “You think that’s what really happened?”

Michaela shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out for sure. It’s just a theory but given that Drake doesn’t want us to know about it?”

“Lends a bit more weight to the theory,” said Brianna.

“Exactly.” Michaela looked at the four men then back to Elena. “Whatever it is, one thing I do know? It’ll make one hell of a story.”

 

Drake eyed the three women. “Is it just me…or are they talking about us?”

  
Alistair glanced out the window, quirking an eyebrow as Michaela moved her hands apart. “If they are, I _really_ don’t want to know what they’re saying.”

“Well, it _looks_ complimentary,” Drake said.

“Yeah, to one of us.”

Cullen sighed. “If we could please just get back to…”

  
Drake rubbed his chin.  “I wonder who was the first one?”

  
“We’re not going there, Drake,” Alistair drawled. “I really don’t want to get out the measuring stick.”

  
“That’s ‘cause you’re scared it’s you.”

“What?! In case you haven’t noticed, you’re the smallest guy here!”

“Excuse me, I may not be an overgrown oaf like you but I make up for it in…other areas.”

Alistair snorted. “Sounds like something an over-compensator would say.”

Drake crossed his arms. “Hey, you giant pain in the ass-”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Sully slammed his hands on the table. “If you two are done _measuring_ , can we get back to the plan?”

Drake held up his hands as Alistair shrugged. Sully sighed. “Thankyou. Now, what are we gonna do about the broads?”

“Sully, the girls can hold their own,” Drake said.

“Yeah, you should’ve seen them save Drake’s ass,” Alistair chuckled.

Drake shot him a slit-eyed glance. “Thanks man.”

Sully waved a hand. “Fine, you two go on out there and tell them _we just found the lost city of gold_. Maybe their producer can get it on the air tonight.”

“Oh come on! Sully…”

“Nate, do you trust me?” Sully asked.

“More or less.” Drake shrugged.

“Good, ‘cause we’re gonna have every two-bit scumbag in the world racing us to this treasure unless we cut them loose right now.”

Drake laughed. “You’re a real gentleman, Sully.”

“I know. It stinks. They’ll get over it.”

Cullen glanced up from the map. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

 

“Are they still watching?”

Michaela nodded. “They keep glancing out here. Cullen looks suspicious.”

“Of course he does,” Brianna laughed. “I don’t think he _has_ any other look. Hey, do the thing with your hands again!”

“Why?”

“That _really_ got their attention. I bet they think we’re measuring them.”

Elena rolled her eyes as Michaela grinned and held her hands up again. Brianna put her head on the side, pretending to think carefully. She shook her head and held up a hand, finger and thumb spread out.

“More like this, I think,” she grinned.

Michaela laughed. “For who?”

Brianna slid her eyes to the cabin then back to meet Michaela’s. She smirked as they both exclaimed, “Drake!” and collapsed against each other, laughing helplessly.

“Guys, can we _please_ focus?” Elena asked.

Brianna straightened. “Okay, okay. What are we gonna do?”

“Go with them, obviously. Find out what they’re doing.”

Michaela crossed her arms. “Wait, aren’t we over budget?”

  
“I don’t care if we’re over-budget! You said yourself this could be big – maybe even the biggest story of the year…why is Sully waving at me?”

  
They turned to look, Elena waving awkwardly back. Brianna nudged Michaela and held up her two index fingers about three centimetres apart. Inside the cabin, Alistair cracked up as Sully frowned. Elena turned away, frowning as she took in the girls’ grins.

“What…” she held up a hand. “Y’know what? I don’t even want to know.”

Michaela nodded towards the boat. “Do you trust them?”

  
Elena shook her head. “Nope. That’s why we need to move fast. Just get everything together and I promise you – hey!”

The boat motored to life, pulling away from the dock.

“Sonofabitch!” Elena yelled, running to the end of the pier. “Hey!!”

Brianna glanced at Michaela. “Shoulda seen that one coming.”

“Ohh yeah.”


	4. The Search for El Dorado

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys make an interesting discovery...

Cullen pushed through what had to be the hundredth wall of vines since they arrived, rolling his eyes as Sully called for a stop. Again.

“Hold on, hold on,” Sully gasped as he bent over, hands on knees. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Drake glanced at him, then at the other two men as they stood silently watching. “You weren’t too old for that little barmaid in Lima, were you?”

“Well, that was different. Although, I must admit, just as strenuous.”

“Did _not_ need to know that,” Alistair murmured to Cullen, who frowned and nodded in agreement.

“Well, hang in there, old timer,” Drake chuckled. “We’re just about there.”

Sully groaned and straightened as, once more, they continued through the jungle. Pushing through the vine wall, they walked into an open space, crumbling pillars scattered around the clearing. Cullen jerked his head at Alistair, who nodded and split off, carefully going round one side of the space while Cullen checked the other.

“Y’know, this reminds me – I ever tell you about the time I pawned a phony 16th century santo off on Pablo Escobar?” Sully laughed. “Ah, risky move, but by the time he figured it out, I was – Nate, are you even listening to me?”

Drake glanced over from where he was studying one of the pillars. “Hanging on every word.”

Sully flung his hands up in defeat. “Ah, why waste my breath?”

  
Alistair and Cullen made their way back to the pair, rifles held at the ready.

“All clear,” Cullen said. Drake nodded, barely hearing him.

Alistair eyed the column, peering around it at the heavily overgrown space. “You really think Francis Drake came all the way up here, huh? We’re a hell of a long way from England.”

Drake ignored him, running his hand over the pillar as he walked around it. He stopped and stared at a spot in the middle of the clearing.

“Well?” Sully asked.

“I don’t get it,” Drake frowned. “According to the diary, we’re right on top of the mark.”

“Maybe you’re not reading the thing right.” Sully reached for the journal. “Let me see it.”

  
“No, this is the place.”

“There’s nothing here, Nate.” Sully said, his voice laced with exasperation. “Another goddamn dead end.”

“Easy, Sully. Just relax.” Drake glanced around the clearing again. “Let’s just…take a look around.”

They spread out, Drake climbing up one of the pillars to try and get a better look. He tugged on several of the vines growing across the stones, kicking around to see if anything gave.

“What do you think these ruins are, Nate?” Sully called up to him. “Incan?”

“Nah, it’s older than that. Like two thousand years older.”

He eyed the next column over. Gathering himself, he jumped, just making it onto the broken stone.

“Find anything?” Sully called.

“Nothing yet.”

He jumped across to the top of a crumbling wall, knocking a few stones loose as he landed. Balancing carefully, he turned and looked down to where Sully stood with his hands on his hips. Drake frowned, squinting at the ground to Sully’s right. There was something wrong with the grass growing there, a different colouring to it. He pointed.

“Hey, there’s something funny about the ground down there!”

Sully walked slowly over to the spot Drake pointed at, Alistair and Cullen moving to stand just behind him at the edge of the discolouration. Sully tapped a foot against the ground.

“It’s hollow! We gotta find a way to smash through this.”

Drake glanced around, spotting a boulder resting against one of the higher pillars. He shoved against it but couldn’t make it budge. He glanced down at the other men.

“Uh, could one of you get up here and give me a hand?”

  
Cullen glanced at Alistair who shrugged and slung his rifle onto his back before grabbing hold of a vine and pulling himself up. Hauling himself onto the wall by Drake, he grinned.

“Y’know, if you wanted to get me alone…”

Drake eyed him suspiciously. “What?”

“You should know I don’t swing that way.”

“What are you talking about?”

  
Alistair patted his chest. “Me. I’m very flattered but…straight. Completely straight.”

Drake stared at him. “You think I’m…interested in you?”

  
“Nope. Just got caught up in the joke. Kinda like getting swept down a river. Can’t fight the current so you just go with it.”

Drake laughed. “This happen to you often?”

  
“Way more than I’d like to admit.” Alistair placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head on the side as he looked over the boulder. “So, what do you want me to do?”

  
“Put more energy into pushing the boulder off than you do to your jokes,” Drake grinned.

“Gotta say, I’m kind of hurt you don’t like my jokes, Drake.”

  
“Just shut up and push.”

  
“…there’s a joke in there somewhere.”

  
“Just push!”

Putting their shoulders against the boulder, they managed to shift it enough so it tilted, tumbling down to smash through the wooden hatch hidden under the grass. Drake whooped and clapped Alistair on the back before climbing down to see what they had revealed.

They stood on the edge of the opening, gazing down at the doorway leading into the gloom. Cullen pulled a couple of flashlights out of his pack, giving one to Alistair who immediately turned it on under his chin.

“It was a dark and stormy night, and Drake was just about to be eaten…”

Cullen gave him a blank stare before turning away and starting down the stairs. Drake and Sully went after him with Alistair bringing up the rear. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they shone the flashlights around, light dashing across the damp walls. A flapping filled the air as dozens of bats rushed past them, screeching at the sudden intrusion into their home. Alistair glanced around the room appraisingly.

“Such a nice, homey little place, isn’t it?” he drawled.

Drake chuckled. “Not what you were expecting?”

  
“Oh no, this pretty much meets my expectations. I don’t really set high standards.”

“Good to know,” Drake said as he pulled his own flashlight from his pack and shone it over the walls.

Sully moved to stand beside him, glaring at a piece of moss. “Where’s all the damn gold?”

Drake looked at him before moving to shine the torch on a new section. “Ah, this place was picked clean centuries ago.”

“No good limey pirate!” Sully growled.

“No, somehow I don’t think it was Drake.” Alistair picked up a tin helmet from the floor. “Check this out.”

Cullen walked over to look at it, shining his flashlight on the insignia. “Looks like the Spanish got here before he did.”

“Wait, you recognise sixteenth century Spanish armour?” Alistair asked. He held up a hand. “You know what, I’m actually not surprised.”

Cullen narrowed his eyes at him. “I took history at school. How do _you_ know it?”

Alistair laughed. “Pretty much the same. We studied the Elizabethan era and I got really into the history so read all that I could on it in my spare time.” He held the helmet up to the light. “Also thought the armour looked pretty cool.”

Sully suddenly grabbed the helmet and threw it to the floor, kicking it away. They all turned to stare at him.

“What the hell, Sully?” Drake exclaimed.

“Nate, I’m not looking for a lousy piece of tin!” Sully yelled. “I’m up to my eyeballs in debt!”

Alistair glanced up as dust filtered down from the roof. “Uh, guys? Perhaps yelling isn’t the way to go in an extremely unstable ruin.”

Sully sighed and sat down on a nearby fallen column. “I was really countin’ on this one, Nate.”

Drake sat next to him and handed over the canteen of water. “Too many big bar tabs in Lima, I guess?”

“That, and well, just a few bad deals,” Sully chuckled. He took his shoes off and emptied the stones out of them. Drake twisted to look at the wall behind him, running his fingers across it.

“Yeah, well, I always told you to stay away from the bad guys,” Drake grinned. “And the bad girls.”

  
“Yeah? Look who’s talking,” Sully shot back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sully gave him a side look. “That reporter. I saw the way you were eyeing her.”

Drake laughed. “Elena? Please. I snuffed any chance with her the second we ditched her and her minions on that dock.”

Alistair snorted. “Yeah. You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t hunt you down and shoot you where it really, _really_ hurts.”

  
Sully glanced at him. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you watching your one.”

  
“Sorry, what?”

“Oh, I dunno, maybe the way you were absolutely _enraptured_ by a certain blonde co-presenter?”

Alistair spluttered. “I was not …enraptured. Or watching. Her.”

“Really?” Sully smirked. “What were you doing then?”

“She seemed more… in …control of their group. I…looked for…guidance from her.”

“Guidance, huh?”

“Yes! No! I mean…”

“So what guidance did you find in those swaying hips, hmmm?” Sully mimed running his hands over curves.

  
“No, no, no, I wasn’t looking at her…hindquarters.”

  
Sully raised an eyebrow as Drake cracked up behind him.

Alistair turned red. “I merely gazed – glanced! In that direction. Maybe.”

“Sure.”

“But I wasn’t staring. Or really…seeing anything, even.”

Sully folded his arms. “Sure, kid. Cause no man ever stared at a woman’s ass.” He shifted to look at Cullen, a small smile pulling at the scar on his lip. “And what about you?”

  
The smirk dropped as Cullen looked down at him. “What about me?”

  
“You’ve got a thing for the sister, haven’t ya?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The brunette? Camera operator? Come on, man, you stared at her ass more than Alistair did at her sister’s!”

Cullen dropped his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “I did not!”

“And, now you’re blushing.” Sully chuckled and shook his head. “Great. Stuck in a tomb with three lovesick kids.” He picked up his flashlight and got to his feet, groaning as his back clicked. “Just remember you three, all’s fair in love and war.”

“And if you can’t tell the difference?” Drake asked.

Sully clapped him on the shoulder. “Then, my friend, you are in big trouble.”

They moved through the room, stopping every now and again as Drake examined sections of the wall. Eventually they reached a huge gaping hole that split the room. Sully whistled as he peered over the edge.

“That’s…one hell of a drop.”

Cullen glanced around. “We have to find a way across.”

Drake shone his torch across the gap. “No kidding.” Spotting a barrel, he handed the torch to Alistair. He took aim and fired, exploding the barrel and causing a pillar to come crashing down. Holstering the pistol, he turned a smug grin to Cullen. “There you go.”

Cullen merely shook his head and made his way across the makeshift bridge.

“Probably a good thing we left the girls behind,” Alistair mused as he gingerly followed Cullen across.

“Why’s that?” Drake asked.

“Well, given that you just blew up part of a temple that’s over two thousand years old…it’s a good thing the history buff wasn’t here to see it.”

“Oh, I get it. Shot through the heart, right?”

  
“ _And you’re to blame,_ ” Alistair sung. He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. But yeah. She’d probably kill you for destroying something so ancient. I mean, it’s almost as old as Sully.”

“Watch it, kid.” Sully gave him a shove as he followed them across the pillar.

Jumping lightly off the slab, Drake walked over to a giant, ornate door. Spotting a chain to its left, he gave it an experimental pull and the stone door started to open.

“Here, let me do that,” Sully said. Cullen waved him away and moved to pull on the chain. He hauled on it until the door opened enough for the others to slip through.

“I’ll hold it open. See if you can jam it from the other side.”

They nodded and slid under, scanning quickly for something sturdy enough to hold the door. Drake spotted a wooden cart and dragged it into position beneath the stone. “Ok, this oughta hold it.”

Cullen released the chain, ducking through the door as the cart groaned under the weight. Another second passed before the cart gave way completely, the door slamming shut behind them all.

“Well,” Alistair said. “That was close.”

Cullen glanced at him before unslinging his rifle. “Let’s just hope this place has a backdoor.”

Drake walked away from them, towards the centre of the room where a large dead brazier sat. He put a hand on it, rubbing away some of the grime to reveal intricate carvings. He frowned.

“Wait, this looks familiar…” he pulled out the diary, flipping through until he found a page with the brazier sketched on it. “Yeah, here it is…looks like this thing is some kind of lamp, or brazier.”

  
Alistair raised an eyebrow. “Even I could have told you that.”

Drake ignored him. “Sully, see if you can light it.”

  
“Oh so after all your bitching about the cigar, now it comes in handy, huh?” Sully said as he strolled over and struck a match. He dropped it into the brazier, flames spreading through it and across the ceiling to light two giant lamps hanging from above. In the flickering light, they gazed at the debris before them, blocking the exit. Drake eyed it for a moment before taking out his gun and shooting the closest lamp. Sparks fell, igniting the debris. Sully chuckled as it began to crumble away.

“Beautiful, Nate.”

Drake grinned as he holstered the gun. “I know. It’s a work of freaking art.”

Cullen and Alistair exchanged glances, shaking their heads as they followed the other two through the dying flames to find a massive drop in the next room. Sully swore.

“Now what?”

Drake glanced around. There were no other exits. “Guess the only way out is down.”

Sully crossed his arms. “And just how are you gonna _get_ down?”

Drake shrugged. “Easy.” And with that, he swung himself off the ledge and began climbing down, using old rafters and pegs as handholds. Sully shook his head.

“Uh, Nate….I mighta been able to do that thirty years ago…”

Drake jumped from the last peg to a thick vine, sliding the rest of the way to the ground. He looked up to see Sully watching worriedly while Cullen stood impassive. Alistair had edged round to the left, trying to shift some of the debris.

“You know,” he called. “I think there may actually be a ladder behind all this rubble.”

Drake glanced around, his gaze coming to rest on a barrel.

“Ok, stand back everyone!” he yelled, shooting it. The explosion destroyed the rubble, a ladder waiting behind it. Sully cheered as Alistair grinned and started down the ladder.

  
Once they were all down, Drake led them to the next room where yet another brazier sat waiting.  Sully glanced at Drake, muttering as he struck another match and lit the brazier. The stone door behind them slid shut. They spun in time to see another door slide open before them.

“You know what they say,” Alistair grinned. “When one door closes, and another one opens…your house is haunted.” He stared in shock as Cullen chuckled before shining the torch down the passageway.

“My god, he _does_ have a sense of humour!” Sully exclaimed.

Cullen shot him a wry glance. “I’m not exactly a robot.”

Sully waved a hand. “Wouldn’t have believed that five minutes ago, kid.”

Drake laughed and started down, following the stairs into the dark. Alistair shone the torch on the damp walls, reaching out to swipe a bit of slime from the rock. He pulled a face before flinging the glob onto the floor. Cullen frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

  
“Testing.”

“Testing what, exactly?”

Alistair shrugged. “You know, I’m not exactly sure.” He laughed slightly. “Guess I’m just curious.”

At the end of the passage, Drake came to a halt. “Ah, now what?” The tunnel opened out into a large room, four platforms standing solidly around a stone circle set in the floor. Carvings glared out at them from the walls, as if they were daring the travellers to step into the room. Drake frowned.

“Wait, I recognise these symbols…” he pulled out the diary, flipping to a page that showed the four carvings. “Here it is.” He held up the diary to the torchlight, Sully reading over his shoulder.

“Whaddya make of it?”

  
Drake frowned. “The order of these signs has some importance.”

He gazed around at the four platforms, and the carvings set into the wall above them. Vines draped over the crumbling walls, half the symbols worn away from the constant drip of water, moss softening the once hard edges. Pulling himself up the first platform, he carefully made his way over to the wall. Examining the carving, he pulled out the diary again, comparing the sketch to the stone before him. “I think this is the first one,” he called. “Stand round the edge of the room, just so you don’t fall down anywhere.”

As they moved to do as he said, Drake turned back to the carving and pushed against it, feeling the stone grate as it slid back into the wall. In the centre of the room, a pillar ground its way up through the floor, locking into place. Drake jumped across to a ledge and made his way round to the second carving, pushing it as he’d done the first. Once more a pillar rose out of the floor. He repeated his actions, making his way across to the third and fourth carvings, pushing them in until finally four pillars stood in the centre of the room. As the last pillar locked into place, sections of the stone circle slid back, revealing a deep wide well. Water glinted at the bottom far below them.

Sully whistled. “Pretty deep.”

Cullen pointed to the side. “Looks like there’s a ladder cut into the side over there.”

Drake nodded. “Wait here while I check it out.” He climbed down the ladder and jumped onto a small ledge below. Climbing round, he entered a small room where another carved block waited. Drake pushed it along the channel in the floor, grimacing as twin chains decorated with skulls began to move. Across the well, a hatch slid open and water began pouring out, raising the water level below them. He stared down, trying to judge just how deep it was.

“Aw, don’t tell me you’re gonna swim in that, Nate!” Sully called.

“I’ve been in worse,” Drake yelled back. And with that, he dove. Freezing water rushed around him, filling his eyes and nose with green murk. Scraps of moss floated past, caught up in the downward pull of his arrival.

Surfacing quickly, he waved at the trio of anxious faces far above him and swam towards the edge of the pool. Climbing quickly over the rocks, he shook his head at how soaked he was and made his way to the base of a thick vine. Clambering up, Drake found himself in another room, behind an ornately carved door.

“Okay,” he yelled, “I’m on the other side.”

“Can you get this thing open?” Sully’s muffled voice came through the door.

Glancing around, Drake spotted another barrel of explosives near the door. Taking aim, he fired, breaking it down. As the others climbed through the wreckage, Sully offered Drake a grin. “Nice one.”

They started down yet another passageway, shining their torches over the slimy walls as they walked. Cullen kept looking up as bats shuffled on the roof.

“I didn’t expect to find them so far down.”

Alistair glanced towards the roof. “You seriously didn’t expect to find bats in a cave?”

  
“As I said, not this far down.”

“Cave’s a cave, dude.”

“Yes, but there must be a way out close by. They generally stay near the exit in case they need to get away.”

“Fair point.”

Ahead of them, Drake stopped and shone his torch on a giant door. Glancing around, he found two chains on either side.

“Hey, you think you two could grab a chain each?” he called over his shoulder.

They nodded and began heaving on the chains, slowly revealing a rickety wooden walkway stretching through a vast cavern. Sully eyed it and ground out his cigar.

“Ah, this looks safe.”

Drake shrugged. “I’m sure it’s fine.” He started along the walkway, edging across as it began to creak and groan. He froze for a moment as the entire thing shifted, listing over.

“Nate! Get out of there now!” Sully yelled.

Drake ran as the wooden boards began crumbling away, the entire structure swaying back and forth like a drunken sailor. Alistair grabbed Sully’s arm, holding him back as he tried to run after Drake.

“The rock’s coming down!” he yelled. “There’s no way you can get to him.”

“But-”

Cullen shook his head, pointing as several giant stone slabs began to fall. “He’s right. You can’t get to him before they drop.”

As they watched in horror, Drake’s sprinting form disappeared behind the slabs, the temple shaking as the rock thumped down.

Sully coughed as a cloud of dust engulfed them. “Shit!”

As it began to settle, they could just make out Drake on the far side, unscathed and waving them across. Alistair let go of Sully, watching as the older man leapt nimbly across the fallen slabs. He held his gun out and bowed slightly to Cullen.

“After you.”

Cullen rolled his eyes and followed Sully across the cavern, Alistair jumping behind him. Drake grinned at them as they got to the last one.

“I made it! I’m okay!”

Sully chuckled. “You’ve got to be the luckiest son of a bitch I’ve ever met.” He clapped Drake on the shoulder. “Thought you mighta done it this time, kid.”

“Ah, you know me. Cockroach. Can’t be killed.”

Alistair snorted. “I’m gonna remember that one.”

“If we could just move on?” Cullen indicated the stairs in front of them. “We still have to find a way out.”

The stairs opened into a large empty room. Dust filtered down in the sunlight streaming through several holes in the roof. Vines crawled over ruined pillars and across the floor. Sully glanced around and lit another cigar.

“Now it looks like we’re getting somewhere.”

“After that,” Drake said, “we’d better be.” He shone his torch round the empty room. “There’s nothing here.”

Cullen shot him a look. “You sure you’re our resident genius?”

“I never said I was.”

“Hey guys. What do you think of this?” Alistair shone his torch into an empty recess, large enough to easily hold them all.

“Oh man,” Sully said.

Drake ran his hand over the edge of the recess. “The temple must have been built around this.”

Sully waved a hand at the empty space. “Around what?”

“A statue…” Drake knelt and grabbed some dirt. Holding his hand up in the light of the torches, he let the dirt run through his fingers, leaving yellow particles on his palm. “…a gold statue.”

“A huge gold statue!” Sully exclaimed. “And look here…” he pointed to several carvings on the wall. “…these people – they’re worshipping the damn thing.” He squinted at the carving closest to him. “At least, I think they’re people.”

Drake spun around. “Of course! ‘El Dorado’ – ‘the Golden Man’! Sully, it wasn’t a city of gold, it was this.” He gestured to the recess. “It was a golden idol.”

Chuckling, Sully crossed his arms and leaned back. “Man, can you imagine what that thing would be worth now?”

Cullen shone his flashlight round, squinting at the ground. “Look over here.” The beam of light played over a set of twin tracks carving through the floor.

Drake nodded. “I bet the Spanish dragged it out on cut logs.” He turned back to Sully. “We’re four hundred years too late for this party.”

“So the trail’s cold?” Alistair asked.

“Looks that way.”

Sully swore. “Sonofabitch!”

Drake rubbed his chin. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

He pointed at the floor. “We follow the tracks.”

“Ah, what the hell,” Sully said. “Lead on, Nate.”

“As always, old timer.”

“Watch the lip, kid.”

“Aww c’mon Sully…”

  
Alistair shot Cullen a grin as the other two went ahead, still bickering.

“Think they’re always like this?”

Cullen watched the other men for a moment. “Probably.” He glanced behind him. “They’ve obviously worked together long enough for it not to offend either of them.”

“Yeah well, as long as it gets us wherever we’re going I’m not gonna argue.”

“Good.”

They caught up with Drake and Sully, standing in front of a giant hole in the wall. Drake stood with his hand resting casually on his gun, the other shielding his eyes against the sudden rush of sunlight. Alistair clicked off the torch. “No more tracks?”

  
Drake shook his head. “Nah, looks like they stop here.”

“Yeah,” Sully said. “Looks like the back wall of the temple was blown out.”

Cullen unslung his rifle, gripping it lightly. “The Spaniards made themselves a shortcut to get the treasure out.”

“Guess we found the back door,” Alistair laughed.

Sully flung down the cigar and ground it out. “Swell. Now what?”

  
They all looked through the gap in the wall, out into the sun-filled clearing. Slabs of rock and crumbling pillars were scattered throughout, vines and creepers clinging to their weathered surfaces. Long grass wove its way between them, bending and swaying in the slight breeze. Above them all a flock of colourful birds took flight, trilling their way into the jungle.

Alistair shielded his eyes as he gazed up into the blue. “Pretty.”

Cullen pointed to the other side. “Over there. Looks like we can get through.” He led the way across the clearing, the others following as he pushed through the grass. Pausing at the split, he held up a hand.

“Do you hear that?”

Drake nodded. “Water.” He pushed past Cullen, taking the lead as they made their way through the cleft. Following the narrow path, he made his way along the side of the rock-face, pushing leaves and vines out the way. As he rounded the corner, he stopped and let out a delighted laugh. “Now there’s something you don’t see every day.”

“My God!” Sully exclaimed.

Before them, perched on top of a high waterfall, lay an old, rusted out U-boat. The current lapped at its dull metal sides, a continuous flow holding it on the rocks. Alistair whistled as he came round the corner, nudging Cullen.

“Who could’ve called _that_? Glad I’m not a betting man!”

Drake made his way to the ledge above them. “Must’ve come up the river during the flood season and gotten stuck.” He grinned back down at them. “Let’s check it out, huh?”

  
Sully held up a hand. “Nah…wait, wait, wait. Something about this feels kinda hinky.”

Cullen looked at him. “Hinky?”

“Yeah,” Alistair said. “You act like you’ve never seen a German U-boat in the middle of the jungle before.”

Sully frowned at them before turning back to Drake. “No, I’m being serious, Nate.”

Drake laughed. “Tell you what…why don’t you stay here, I’ll check it out by myself. I’ll call you if I run into any Nazis.”

“Not good enough. Take these two with you. Just so I know you won’t get yourself killed.”

“C’mon Sully…”

“Humour me, Nate.”

“Fine. But if we run into any Nazi zombie things, I’m out. They can have Alistair.”

  
“Hey!”

Sully sighed. “Yeah, right. You do that.”

Drake began to walk towards the water. “Oh, wait, wait, wait.” He turned back and handed the journal to Sully. “Hold onto this for me, will ya?” He turned back to the U-boat, glancing at the other two men as they moved to stand beside him. “Okay, boys. Looks like we’re gonna have to do this the hard way.”


	5. A Surprising Find

Drake carefully climbed over the rocks and onto the hull of the U-boat. Running his hand over the rusted metal, he shook his head.

“No way in here.”

Cullen raised an eyebrow. “Really. I hadn’t guessed.”

Alistair clapped him on the shoulder. “Sarcasm! I’m impressed, Cullen.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Yup.”

A splash interrupted them as Drake dove into the water and began swimming towards the other end of the boat. Alistair exchanged a glance with Cullen.

“Do you think we look like that when we swim?”

“What?”

“You know – floundering around a little. He’s not exactly graceful.”

“So long as he stays afloat, who cares?”

“Yeah, true.”

They unslung their rifles, leaving them on the bank before diving in and swimming through the water around to the right, the current dragging at their clothes. In an alcove near the edge of the waterfall, Drake was waiting for them, giving Sully the details through a walkie-talkie.

“…yeah, there’s no way in here.”

“ _Looks like you’re gonna have to monkey around to get into the U-boat, Nate.”_

“Looks like.” Drake clipped the walkie-talkie back onto his belt and turned to the others. “Ready to climb?”

“Higher than we’ve ever been before?” Alistair grinned.

Cullen shielded his eyes against the sun’s glare as he scanned the cliffs. “Just watch yourselves up there. It’s a long way down.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Drake waved him off. “I’ll go first.”

As he started to climb, Alistair glanced at Cullen. “Think we’ll be able to catch him if he falls?”

  
Cullen eyed him for a moment. “If he falls, he’s dead.”

“And we don’t get paid.”

“Just climb.”

They made their way up and across the cliff, stretching for handholds in the crumbling rock, following Drake’s yelled instructions to find the ones that would hold. Finally, they all stood on a ledge behind the waterfall, gazing at the U-boat far below.

“Now what?” Drake mused.

Alistair glanced around and began edging his way out from under the overhang, along the narrowing ledge. “This way, I think,” he said. “Hold onto the vines if you have to.” He swung over the ledge, hanging for a moment before dropping onto another one about six feet below. The others followed suit as he began jumping carefully from ledge to ledge, eventually climbing across the face of the cliff until he was just above the U-boat. Letting go, he dropped lightly to the deck. 

“Hey, kid!” Sully called. “When was your last tetanus shot?”  
Alistair grinned. “Oh, that’s funny, old man!”

He turned as Drake and Cullen landed behind him. “So which way now?” he asked.

Drake pointed towards the conning tower. “I bet that’s our way in.” He ran up the deck and whooped. “Bingo!”

He climbed down through the open hatch, stepping carefully on the rusted ladder. Dropping to the floor, he grabbed the walkie-talkie.

“Okay, I’m in.”

_“Whaddya see?”_

“Something nasty happened to these guys. There’s blood everywhere.”

Alistair dropped down beside him. “And soup.”

“ _What?!”_ came over the radio.

Cullen dropped from the ladder and pulled out his pistol. His eyes scanned the rusted boat, the vines thrusting up through the old instrument panels and breaking through the hull. He glanced around as Drake made his way forward, picking his way through to another hatch and hauled on the rusted wheel, grunting with effort as he pulled the door open. Climbing through, he spotted torpedoes lying passively in their holders. Cullen ducked through the open hatch and frowned as Drake stepped closer to the missiles.

“Don’t touch those.”

Drake glanced back at him. “Wasn’t gonna.”

  
“Thought you needed a reminder.”

“Gee, thanks.” He walked forward and dropped through another hatchway into a room of instrument panels, all rusted through. At the end of the room, a corpse lay across the opening of another hatch.

“Eughh…” Drake knelt down and pulled it away from the door. As he dropped it, several coins spilled from its pocket onto the floor. He picked one up, looking at it closely. “Now, where did you get this, my decomposing friend?” He held it up for the others to see and pulled out the walkie-talkie. “Sully?  I think the trail just got warm again.”

_“How so?”_

“Well, we just met a guy with pockets full of Spanish gold, only the coins are stamped with a mint mark I’ve never seen before.”

_“You’re kidding me.”_

“Looks like our German friends had a little secret.”

“No kidding,” Alistair murmured.

They continued on, making their way through a partially filled section of the U-boat, swimming through the last of it until they could climb up a ladder into the next room, Alistair looked around appraisingly. “Cosy.”

Cullen gave the room a cursory glance. “Sleeping quarters.”

“How’d you know?”

He pointed. “Bunks.”

Ducking through another hatch, Drake found himself in a larger room, maps deteriorating on the walls as their edges pulled away from rusted pins. Reaching up, he pulled back a rotting curtain and took a quick step back. Clicking on the walkie-talkie, he stared at the corner of the room.

“Alright, I’m in the Captain’s quarters…and get this – he’s still here.” He nudged the foot of the corpse, grimacing as he took in the skin stretched tight across the bones of its face, buttons gleaming dully on the torn uniform.

_“What’s that supposed to mean?”_ Sully asked.

“Ah, looks like he was killed.”

Cullen ducked through the hatch and eyed the corpse. “Ripped to shreds actually.”

Alistair whistled. “What a way to go.”

_“Yeah, sounds terrible,”_ Sully said. _“Check his wallet.”_

“You’re all heart, Sully,” Drake chuckled.

He lifted the Captain’s hand and took a piece of paper out of its loose grip. Moving it into the light, he spread it on a nearby table. Smoothing the crease out, he grinned.

“No way!” He looked at a second map already pinned to the table. “You’ve got to be kidding…”

_“Find anything, kid?”_

Drake glanced across the room at the map on the wall. Picking up the paper on the table he moved to stand in front of it. “UK2642,” he muttered, scanning the map on the wall. “U-K…U-K…UK2642…Gotcha!”

“ _You alright, Nate?”_  
“Sully, you’re not gonna believe this,” he chuckled.

_“Try me.”_

“I think I found our missing page.”

_“You’re kidding.”_

Drake ran his hand over the map. “Looks like Drake and our German pals were after the same treasure. And I’ve got a map that’s gonna lead us right to it.”

_“Nate, this better not be another wild-goose chase. We’ve got to get something out of this trip or-”_

“Or what? Sully…” he shook the walkie-talkie. “You there? Sullivan?” He turned back to the others. “Damn thing must’ve died.”

“I don’t like this,” Cullen said. He frowned at the walkie-talkie. “Let’s get back.”

Drake nodded and led the way back through the boat, shoving open a rusting hatch. It gave suddenly, swinging back and knocking a torpedo to the floor. The propeller on the bomb started to spin as Drake scrambled back.

“Ooh, oh – don’t – don’t…that’s probably bad.”

Alistair shoved him forwards. “You don’t say. Move!”

Drake ran towards the torpedo tube and crawled through it, Cullen and Alistair right behind him, squeezing their broad shoulders through. Taking a deep breath, they forced themselves out into the water and swam under the hull.

Surfacing near the front of the boat, Drake spluttered as he began to haul himself onto the ledge. Behind him, he could hear the other two breathing heavily as they came up, Alistair swearing slightly as they tread water. Drake frowned and opened his eyes, focussing first on the knee clad in immaculate breeches inches from his face.

“Hello.”

Drake squinted up into the smug face of Gabriel Roman. Armed men came forward, aiming their guns at Cullen and Alistair. The man he knew as Navarro stood behind Gabriel, an AK in his hands. At a signal from Gabriel, he came forward and grabbed hold of Drake’s arm, hauling him bodily from the water.

“Hey, hey,” Drake said, shrugging him off. Navarro ignored him, taking the gun from Drake’s holster. Drake glanced across to where Sully had his hands behind his head. “Friend of yours?”

  
Gabriel smiled, his teeth stained slightly with tobacco. “I’m Gabriel Roman.”

“Yeah, I know who you are, asshole,” Drake shot back, glaring at the older man.

“Manners, young man. This is just business.”

Navarro shoved him. “Get over there.” He pushed Drake towards Sully, giving him a swift hit between the shoulders for good measure.

  
“Whoa, easy,” Drake said.

Navarro aimed the gun at him. “Put your hands up.”

Drake raised his hands. “Alright, they’re up.”

The other men forced Alistair and Cullen out of the water, taking their guns from their holsters as they stood dripping and impassive, unable to do anything with Drake staring into several rifle barrels. Training the guns on them, the mercenaries shoved them over to the other men, indicating for them to raise their hands. Gabriel watched them with contempt before turning to face Drake once more, carefully brushing the dirt from his trousers.

“See, your friend owes me money, Mr Drake. A lot of money. So when he told me that you two were onto something big-” Drake cut his eyes to Sully “-‘ _the find of a lifetime’_ , he said.” Gabriel shrugged. “Well I was intrigued. But he’s made grand promises before.” He stopped in front of Sully, hands clasped behind his back. “Haven’t you, Victor? And here we are again. Another fool’s errand.”

  
Alistair rolled his eyes. “Jesus, does he always go on like this?”

Navarro hit him in the stomach with the butt of his rifle and he doubled over with a grunt. Gabriel held up a hand.

“Take it easy, Navarro.” He turned back to Drake. “So, I’m afraid the time is up. Unless of course you found something in there, Mr Drake,” Gabriel pointed towards the U-boat, “that might compensate for all this unpleasantness?”

  
Sully glared at Gabriel. “He’s screwing with you, Nate. They heard everything. Just give ‘em the map.”

Drake’s mouth thinned as Navarro stepped forward and snatched the map, squinting at it in the sunlight. He strode to Gabriel, waving the map. “What does a Kriegsmarine map have to do with El Dorado?”

Gabriel took the map from him, carefully scanning it.

“What, you think this is coincidence?” Sully said. “The Germans were after the same treasure – that map has something to do with it.”

Gabriel looked up from the map.

“So we square?” Sully asked.

“For now. But just in case you need a reminder…” Gabriel pulled out a gun and aimed it at Drake.

“Hey! Come on,” Sully said. “Leave him out of it.”

  
Drake laughed nervously. “Yeah, don’t you guys usually just cut off a finger or something?”

“That’s far too vulgar.” Gabriel smiled thinly. “No, I think this will hurt him a bit more.”

Sully moved to stand in front of Drake, still with his hands in the air. “Whoa, whoa, whoa – c’mon Roman, he’s got nothing to do with-”

Gabriel fired, and Sully crumpled, dropping heavily to the ground.

“Sully! Sully!” Drake shouted. He ran to Navarro and tried to wrestle the gun from him. “You son-of-a-bitch!”

Cullen and Alistair leapt into action, struggling with the men surrounding them. Alistair grabbed a mercenary, snapping his neck before flinging him onto another man as he raised his gun to fire. Cullen hit out in all directions, spinning quickly as he aimed blows into the exposed sides and necks of any man advancing on him.

An immense blast echoed out across the riverside as the U-boat imploded behind them, stopping the fight in its tracks. Everyone froze as they watched a mercenary try to escape from the burning wreck, screaming as a second explosion hit. A shock wave ripped across the ravine, knocking them to the ground. Cullen was on his feet first, hauling Drake up before Gabriel’s mercenaries could react. Drake tried to reach back to where Sully lay unmoving on the ground, groaning when Alistair pushed him away, forcing him to run as Navarro got unsteadily to his feet. As they ran, Gabriel’s voice followed, echoing around as he yelled for the mercenaries to stop them.

They ran, ducking and dodging to avoid the hail of bullets as the mercenaries fired haphazardly, still half dazed from the explosions. Drake made it through the gap in the cliffs first, running until he’d made it through to the clearing. Gasping, he doubled over to catch his breath, hands on his knees. Cullen and Alistair skidded beside him, both turning to watch the way they’d come, hands ready to fight if need be.

Drake’s eyes snapped open as a hand grabbed him from behind, spinning him around. He took a quick step back, his fist raised in self-defence as Cullen and Alistair moved swiftly to flank him.

“Whoa there, cowboy,” Elena said, small hand bunched into a fist as she glared at him. Brianna and Michaela stood slightly behind and to the side of her, backs to the rock as they aimed their guns at the two bodyguards. Drake relaxed first, dropping his fist as he sighed in relief.

Elena punched him in the face.

“Shit!” Drake staggered back, clutching his eye.

Alistair let out a quick laugh as Elena stepped back, shaking her hand. The other two girls lowered their guns, Brianna putting hers under her arm long enough to clap.

“That’s for leaving us on the dock!” Elena said.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Drake asked incredulously.

She stepped towards him, almost bristling with indignation. “Listen, I’m a good enough reporter to follow a couple of no-luck tomb robbers and their hired goons!”

“Shhh!” Cullen hissed and moved quickly to press up against the rock, inadvertently trapping Brianna against him. Drake pushed Elena back beside them, holding a finger to his lips as Alistair ducked around to flatten himself against the wall beside Michaela. Crashing footsteps sounded in the long grass as a couple of mercenaries ran past, their breathing harsh and fast.

“They went this way!” one yelled.

“I’ll radio ahead!”

As they thrashed away through the jungle, Cullen glanced down at Brianna. She raised an eyebrow.

“Well, that’s a bit forward, don’t you think?” she grinned.

He stepped back quickly, turning away and rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, just…they were…um.”

She patted his arm and laughed. “Thanks anyway. Have to do it again sometime.”  
“I…” he cleared his throat. “Nevermind.”

Drake glanced at Elena before peering around the rockface to see if there were any more mercenaries. “Yeah, well, you’re down to one tomb robber and a couple of goons now.”

“What?”  
“Yeah and we’re next if we don’t get out of here.”

“Oh god…I’m sorry.” She put her hand on his arm.

He shook his head. “Please tell me you have a gun. Several if possible.”

She nodded. “Of course. We’ve only got a few between us but…”

She handed him one of her pistols, and gestured to the other girls. Brianna handed one of her guns to Cullen with a grin. He simply nodded his thanks and opened it to check how many rounds were left as Michaela handed her spare to Alistair.

Drake nodded to Elena. “Thanks. Alright, come on.”

He headed back into the clearing full of ruins, the others close behind. Cullen signalled Alistair who nodded and split off to skirt round the left side while he took the right. Drake led the way through the centre, ducking behind pillars and ruins to avoid being seen by Roman’s mercenaries in the temple. Elena pointed, indicating for each of the girls to split off with the men, each taking a side of the clearing whilst she followed Drake.

As they neared the blown out section of the wall, they watched as Drake took careful aim at the sentry. And missed. Cullen rolled his eyes and quickly fired as the man turned around, one shot through the head. Two more came running round the corner, taken out by Alistair and Elena. Drake jumped over a section of rock beside the entrance, running into the temple, gun at the ready.

“You always seem to be getting shot at!” Elena called as they ran after him.

He shot a quick grin over his shoulder. “They’re shooting at you too you know!”

They ran back through the passages, following the scrape marks back to the room that had held the statue. As they rounded a corner, they heard mercenaries start to shout as bullets flew towards them. Ducking behind pillars, they managed to take them out and keep going, stopping only briefly to snatch up extra guns from the dead men.

Reaching the vast room with the fallen slabs of stone, Drake began jumping across. Michaela hesitated, watching as Elena jumped nimbly after him. Alistair offered her his free hand.

“Come on, just don’t think about it.”

“Yeah…yeah…”

Cullen gave her a sceptical look. “You must have done this before. When you followed us.”

“I did. Only, there weren’t men with guns waiting on the other side.”

Alistair laughed. “Sure there were – or did you think we were unarmed?”  
She looked up at him and grinned. “To be fair, when we found you, you _weren’t_ armed.”

“That’s…true, actually." He grinned down at her. "But now, we have to go.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get it over with.” And with that she took his hand and jumped, letting him lead her across the gaps.

On the other side, Elena stood catching her breath. “What the hell is this place anyway?” she gasped.

Drake pressed his back to a pillar, edging around to have a look. “Uh, long story. Tell you later.”

As the others arrived, he set off down the passageway again, gun held at the ready.  They rounded a corner into the room with the deep well, Drake giving it a wide berth.

“Not ready for another dip, Drake?” Alistair asked.

Brianna peered into the hole. “You went swimming in _that_? You really are crazy.”

  
Drake frowned. “I didn’t exactly have a choice, you know.”

  
She shrugged. “Sure you did. You could’ve chosen to stay up here, turn back and leave it alone.”

As she spoke, Cullen suddenly raised his pistol, firing into the dark above them. A cry echoed through the room as a man fell from near the ceiling, blood pooling from the hole in his chest. The others swung their guns up as more men ran in, firing until the last one fell.

“Never a dull moment, huh?” Elena said.

“Just keep your head down,” Cullen replied. “They’re not going hold back because you’re a woman.”

“Would be kinda insulted if they did.”

He flung her an incredulous look. “What kind of logic is that?”

  
Alistair nudged him. “Don’t go there, man. Women’s logic? Not our specialty.”

Cullen shook his head and led the way up the stairs into the room with the brazier and through to the bottom of the high ceilinged room. He pointed at the ladder.

“I’ll go up first, then Drake, then the women, and Alistair, you bring up the rear.”

They nodded as he started up, Drake deciding against arguing. At the top, they split, each taking cover behind a pillar on either side, taking out the mercenaries standing on guard. Alistair reached the top and moved to stand next to Michaela as they all went forward into the room. He nodded his head towards the right, gesturing for her to move around behind a pile of rubble while he and Cullen took out the remaining two mercenaries across the large gap in the floor. She nodded, pulling Brianna with her. The men quickly shot and killed the guards, leading the way over the fallen slab Drake had toppled earlier. Noticing Michaela’s frown, Alistair gave her a small smile.

“By the way, that was Drake.”

“I had sort of figured that.”

“Really?”  
“Oh yeah.”

Drake frowned back at them. “Ok, save it for now. You can kill me later when I’m clean and out of danger.”

He led them back through the tunnels, red flares left by Roman casting eerie shadows across his face and glinting on the guns. He led the way slowly up the last of the stairs, moving to a crouch as they neared the entrance to the temple. At the top, he quickly rolled the last few feet and ducked behind a pillar, leaning around slightly to fire at the last group of mercenaries. One bullet bit into a man's leg, sending him crashing to the ground with a cry. Alistair fired at another that dropped from a ledge, hitting him midair at the same time Cullen's bullet found the man's brain. Elena let off a few shots, grazing a man's skull as he raced towards her. Her next shot found his heart. Drake snatched a grenade from his belt, pulling the pin and launching it into the last three mercenaries. They scrambled, desperate to get away, their hands scrabbling on the ruined walls before the bomb blew them into pieces.

As the explosion echoed away, Elena pointed over to the right to where she has a jeep waiting, hidden under leaves and branches. Running to pull the camouflage off, Elena glanced between the mercenary bodies and Drake.

“So, you always been this popular?”

He laughed. “Well, I do seem to attract the scum of the earth.” He glanced across at her. “Ah, no offense.”

  
“None taken.”

  
He climbed into the driver’s seat, Elena taking the passenger while the others piled in the back. As he started the car, he handed her the map he’d taken from the U-boat.

“Do you have a good memory?”  
She nodded. “Yeah, why?”  
“UK2642…you got that.”

“We’ve all got it, mate,” Alistair said, his voice muffled as he dug around in the back for any spare ammo.

Elena nodded. “What is it?”

“Kriegsmarine coordinates,” Drake replied. “I think I know where the Spanish took _El Dorado_.”

Elena stared at him, and then at the map. “ _El Dorado_?”

  
He glanced behind them. “The problem is, so do the bastards that killed Sully.” He hit the dash. “Damn it! If the Spanish found the treasure, they had to’ve moved it there, to that island.” He pointed at the map. “And Drake followed them.”

Elena grinned suddenly and put her feet on the dash. “Well, what are we waiting for? We’ll get our story and you’ll get…whatever it is you’re after.”

As he manoeuvred the jeep away, he cut her a look. “This isn’t gonna be a vacation, you know.”

“Pfft.” Elena slung an arm out the window, resting her elbow on the sill. “I can take care of myself.”

“Besides,” Brianna chimed in. “You owe us one.”

Drake glanced back at her before shaking his head. “I suppose I do,” he sighed, and pressed the accelerator down.

….

Alistair strolled along the dock, struggling to appear casual as he glanced around. Cullen was crouched near the end, checking the contents of a backpack as Drake outlined some plan on a map he had spread on a nearby crate, talking as he pointed at various spots. Brianna strapped her camera into a large black bag not far from them, stuffing extra batteries and memory cards into the inner pockets as Michaela clicked away on a laptop, doing a quick read up on El Dorado for the show. He watched for a moment as she frowned and turned to say something to Brianna, who simply grinned and said something which had them in fits of laughter.

Looking behind him, Alistair spotted Elena walking along the beach from the hut that served as the harbour master’s office. Waving a hand quickly, he hurried to meet her. She grinned up at him and handed over a sheath of papers.

“All set with permits,” she laughed. “Something Drake doesn’t seem to know about!”

He laughed with her as he flicked through the pages. “You’ve been thorough.”

“Not taking any chances.” She took the papers back and zipped them into her pocket before shielding her eyes and squinting up into his face. “Y’know, you’re really tall.”

Alistair shrugged and grinned sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. I guess. Must have something to do with all the stews I had to eat as a child. Terrible things.”

“Stews?”

“Yeah. It was the main food in the dorms at school. Lamb and pea, in particular, boiled together until everything was a uniform grey colour.”

Elena frowned. “That…sounds horrible, actually.”

“Not really. You just throw everything into a pot, boil it for as long as possible, then as soon as it all looks bland and unappetizing, that’s when you know it’s ready.”

“You’re having me on.”

He laughed. “You need to eat in more English pubs.” He glanced back at the others. “So…you’re female, right?”

Elena stared at him before glancing down at herself and back up at him. “Seriously?”

Alistair shuffled and ran a hand through his hair, blushing furiously. “I just wanted some advice. What should I do if…if I think a woman is special and--”

“You want to ‘woo’ her?” Elena made quotation marks and crossed her arms. “Here’s a good tip: you shouldn’t question her about her female-ness.”

“All right, yes. Good point.”

“Why do you ask? Don’t you think things will just…happen on their own?”

“Why would they?” Alistair groaned. “Especially when I do things like ask women if they’re female.”

Elena laughed and patted his arm. “It adds to your charm, Alistair. You’re a little awkward, which is kinda cute.”

They paused as Cullen strode past them to grab a few things from a crate. Alistair waited until he’d headed back to the dock before turning back to Elena. “So I should be awkward? Didn’t you just say not to do things like that?”

“Just…be yourself.” She stepped around him and continued on towards the dock where the others were loading things onto Sully’s plane. Flinging a quick glance over her shoulder, she grinned at his frown. “You do know how to do that, right?”

Alistair sighed. “Alright, forget I asked.” He wandered after her, ignoring her smirk as he grabbed a couple of boxes of ammo and ducked into the plane.

Michaela glanced at Elena in surprise. “What was that about?”

  
“Uh, nothing much. What have you found on El Dorado?”

“A lot of old legends,” Brianna piped up. “And a great movie that I think we all should watch.” She glanced over at Cullen. “Especially Cullen. He can get hair inspiration.”

He frowned at her. “What?”

“Don’t think we haven’t noticed.” She grinned. “It’s styled very nicely today.”

  
“I don’t…”

“So it just gets that way on its own, then?”

Cullen looked away, rubbing his hand on his neck. “Not…exactly.”

Michaela rolled her eyes as Brianna collapsed into giggles beside her and turned the laptop so Elena could see the research she’d found. Cullen huffed and strode away down the dock, muttering about needing to check ammo.

“I think Alistair’s already doing that, Cully!” Brianna called after him before the giggles took hold once more.

Elena leaned over to peer at the screen, shooting Brianna a narrow-eyed look as she noticed the small picture of a movie cover in the bottom corner. Michaela sighed and deleted it before scrolling through the notes, pointing out bits and pieces that might be useful for the show.

Drake watched them for a moment before climbing into the plane. He grinned at the two men inside. “Well, that certainly ruffled some carefully styled hair.”

  
Cullen glared at him. “Don’t think I won’t hurl you out of this plane.”

“What happened?” Alistair glanced between them. “Why’s Cullen going red?”

“Brianna teased him about his hair and he got upset.”

  
“I didn’t get upset!”

Alistair raised an eyebrow. “Right. And you absolutely didn’t come in here and snatch the ammo boxes away. Or sit in the corner scowling while you counted. Or-”

“Enough!” Cullen sat down with a groan, before pulling a bag towards him. He stared at the first aid kit inside, not really seeing it. Alistair watched him as he started to rifle absently through the bandages.

“She really gets to you, huh?”

Cullen sighed. “She shouldn’t. But she _does._ Jesus! Why can’t I just ignore it like I do you?”

“Well, that hurt. I think I’m bleeding.” Alistair grinned as Cullen scowled up at him. “Seriously though, try thinking about _why_ exactly you can’t ignore her.”

“That’s rich coming from you!”

“Me?”

“Yeah, or were you not asking Elena for romantic advice?”

  
“How the hell did you hear that?” Alistair cleared his throat. “Also, I’m not actually sure if I managed to ask her anything.”

Drake glanced between them. “Wait, you asked Elena…what, exactly?”

Alistair waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not going after your girl.”

“ _My_ girl?” Drake gave a quick laugh. “I’m pretty sure she’s still pissed at me. But my point is, why were you asking her for advice?”

“Just….forget it. Okay?” Alistair ran a hand through his hair distractedly. ‘Don’t we have a lost treasure to find or something?”

“Fine. We can drop it.” Drake grinned. “But I’m definitely not forgetting this one.”

….

 

Elena cleared her throat, pushing a strand of hair back off her forehead as she smiled into the lens of Brianna’s camera. As the red light blinked on, she began to talk.

“We’re on the trail of the lost treasure of El Dorado, and it’s brought us here, to this tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean…”

Brianna panned the camera away to the window, taking in the expanse of ocean, and the island squatting darkly on the horizon as the plane winged towards it. She brought it around, filming across Cullen and Alistair where they sat checking their guns and ammo, past Michaela as she scribbled in a notebook and finally coming to Drake as he sat in the pilot’s seat. He turned and flashed the camera a quick smile.

“Let’s get a closer look,” he said. “And hope we’re the first ones here.”

The camera panned back to Elena as she smiled once more. “Will we discover the ruins of a forgotten colony and a fortune in Spanish gold?” she asked the lens, “Or does the island have darker secrets in store for us?” In the background of the shot, Drake glanced at her and looked away, rolling his eyes.

Brianna clicked the camera off. “And, cut. For now.”

Elena sat back in the co-pilots seat and smiled at Drake. “That should keep ‘em from changing the channel.”

Back in the cabin of the plane, Alistair leaned towards Michaela. “No offense, but is the dialogue always like that?”

Michaela glanced back at the cockpit before nodding. “Yeah.”

“Seriously?”

  
She shrugged. “She insists on writing her own script. Easiest just to let her get on with it.”

“And what about you?”

  
“What about me?”

“Well, you’re her co-presenter, right?”

  
“Right.”

  
“So how come you don’t get any screen time?”

Michaela looked up at him. “I do get screen time. We sort of…trade off, I guess. She’s doing this one ‘cause she looks way better without makeup than I do.”

“I don’t think so.” He blushed suddenly. “I mean…that is…um....”

She laughed and snapped the notebook shut. “Thanks. Boosts my self-esteem a little, even if I don’t quite believe you.”

The plane lurched, shuddering as something ploughed into its side.

“Whoa! What the hell was that?!” Elena shouted.

Drake leaned to look out the window. “Anti-aircraft fire?! This is so not cool!”

Cullen stared at him for a moment. “Not cool?”

“Did you just make a pun, Cullen?” Alistair grinned.

“There isn't time for jokes, Alistair.”

“There’s always time for jokes.”

  
“Not when AAs keep firing at us.”

  
“Seriously guys?” Drake yelled.

Brianna looked out the window. “Speaking of not cool? We’re on fire.” She held up the camera, filming the flaming engine. She swung it around and focussed on Drake as he swore.

“Enough with the damn camera!” he growled as he battled with the controls. “We have to bail out!”

“Bail out?” Elena shouted. “Does this thing even have parachutes?!”

“Now would be a good time to look,” Drake said.

Cullen reached under the seats in the cabin, pulling out parachutes and handing them to everyone. Brianna grabbed one and flung it at Elena. “This answer your question?”

“Screw you.”

“You’re not my type.”

“Seriously?!”

“What? I like blonde, just not chicks.”

Drake shot Cullen a look. “There ya go. You’re in!”

“Shut up and fly the damn plane,” Cullen replied.

  
“I don’t get a parachute?”

  
“Maybe if you stop talking.”

“Hardass.” Drake hauled on the controls, struggling to keep the plane going straight.

  
An explosion rocked the plane, knocking them to the floor. Alistair got to his feet first, quickly reaching to help Michaela up. Brianna checked the camera, before strapping it swiftly into its bag. Satisfied it was secure, she swung the bag up and over her head, settling it against her hip. Elena fiddled with the straps on her parachute. “I hope these things still work.”

“We’ll find out in a minute,” Drake said.

Cullen moved between them all, checking the straps on each parachute. Brianna looked up at him.

“Have you ever done this before?”

He met her eyes briefly before pulling the strap tighter round her chest. “Of course. You just jump, count to five, and pull the cord.” He opened the cabin door. “Ready? Now, go!” He pushed her out the door. She managed to pull the cords on her parachute, the canvas billowing out above her head. Cullen watched for a moment then beckoned to Elena. She turned to Drake. “Are you coming?!”

“Kinda busy right now!” He flashed her a look. “Get going!”

She nodded and stumbled to the open door. “See you on the ground?”

“Right behind ya!”

She jumped, screaming as she fell. She could see Brianna’s parachute below her and pulled hard on the cord, jolting as the canvas flew out and slowed her fall. Cullen looked at Michaela.

 “I’ve never done this before,” she said, staring out at the jungle below them.

“It’s easy enough.” Alistair tightened the straps on his parachute and grinned at her. “Come on, I’ll jump with you.”

She held out her hand and he took it without hesitation, pulling her out with him as he jumped. Cullen glanced back at Drake who waved him away. He frowned before following the others out, leaving Drake alone in the plane.

Drake watched for a minute before shaking his head. “What am I doing?” He grabbed his parachute, fumbling with the straps as another explosion rocked the plane, knocking him to the floor. He struggled to his feet, still strapping on the parachute as he stared out the open door to the island below. “Okay, you just jump…count to five…pull the cord. How hard can it be?” He glanced directly below him at the mass of trees. “Crap.”

He jumped. “Onetwothreefourfive! Aaaagh! Crap!” He pulled the cord, glancing up as the canvas billowed out. A large hole screamed at him from the corner. “Crap crap crap crap crap crap! Aaagh!”

He fell faster and faster, the parachute only slightly slowing his descent. He covered his eyes as the trees rushed up to meet him.

He hit.

Everything went black.

 


	6. Plane Wrecked

Swinging. He was…swinging. He groaned and winced as the sun shone in his eyes. Everything hurt. Raising a hand, he shielded his face from the glare and carefully looked up. And swore as a large stone face came into focus, looming over him. Pushing back, he swung away from it. Fumbling with the straps across his chest, he undid the buckle and fell to the ground. Rolling onto his back, he looked back up at the face.

A stone angel. His parachute had caught on its wing, several feet above the ground. He frowned at it before looking around at the clearing. There were signs of old ruins, some rusted gates hidden behind tangled vines. Patting his pockets, he swore again. No map. Shielding his eyes, he could make out smoke in the distance.

“Aw hell.”

“Strangers trying to kill me; leave my map on a burning plane; Elena and the others missing, most likely dead. Well, maybe not Alistair. Take a lot to kill a guy that big. And pretty sure Cullen’s made of rock, so probably good there. Ah shit, who am I kidding?” He chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s great. Great start, Nate.”

He moved painfully around the clearing, the long grass catching at his feet as he moved towards the rusted gates. He tried shaking them, then pushing his shoulder against them before giving up and kicking the metal forcefully. Trees rose up on all sides, moss and vines hanging from their twisted branches to ghost across fallen pillars. A bird chattered in the gloom, a single maddening note rising to echo again and again.

Drake staggered through the lichen covered ruins, light filtering through the overhanging trees as stone stretched towards the sky, following the narrow path until he found himself in another clearing. A small clear pool swirled gently at the base of a waterfall, plants peeling away from the banks. Flowers swayed prettily in the long grasses as vines twined along the stones, caressing the cracks in their faces. Everything was still, the babble of water and birdsong the only sounds.

Dropping to his knees, Drake drank and drank, trying to wash the smoke and dust from his throat before tipping a handful over his head. He splashed his face, scrubbing a hand across his eyes before he glanced around.

To the right, he spied a series of rocks that looked fairly easy to climb, water cascading over the moss-slick surfaces as they piled against the higher bank. Getting unsteadily to his feet, Drake groaned and began hauling himself up.

He followed the river upstream, climbing the rocks past another waterfall and grinning to himself as he startled a brightly coloured bird. Directly ahead, a giant tree had fallen across the river, the far edge resting solidly against the remains of a small wall. Its surface was covered in green lichen, moisture glistening in the light. Drake tested it, his boot sliding along the rotting bark before he regained his balance. Taking a deep breath, he held his arms out to the sides and inched his way across.

As he reached the end, a single shot echoed through the jungle. Ducking behind the ruined wall, he peered around in time to see a tall blond figure run from cover and press itself against a crumbling pillar. He jumped up, waving his arms wildly.

“Cullen! Hey, Cullen!”

Cullen frowned as the mercenaries that were following him turned to face the newcomer. Raising their guns, they fired at Drake who dropped back behind the wall and began firing shots of his own. Cullen watched as Drake rolled out from behind the wall and quickly ran along another log to take cover behind the pillar next to him.

Drake flicked him a quick grin. “Well, guess I was right!”

Cullen shot an advancing mercenary. “About what?”

“Nothing can kill Rockman.”

“Rockman?”

“Yeah. You know, as in Batman, but made out of rocks, not bats.” He fired off another couple of shots, taking down two men. “Shit!” He jumped away as a grenade rolled past him, kicking it over the edge of the rock face.

Cullen glanced at him before reloading his gun. “Batman wasn’t made out of bats.”

“I know. But kudos for getting the reference.”

“I know who Batman is!” Cullen fired a shot around the pillar. “Do you think I live under a rock or something?”

Drake smirked. “Well, as I said, you’re-”

“I heard you.”

Together they kept firing, each covering the other as they moved through the jungle taking out Roman’s men. Drake glanced at Cullen as the other man grimaced and reloaded his gun. “Have you found any of the others? Alistair or the girls?”

Cullen glared at him. “Do you think I’d be alone if I had?”

“Just thought I’d ask, in case you’d left them somewhere needing help.”

“If I’d found them, I would have told you already.”

Climbing a series of ledges, they found themselves looking into another courtyard, lines of pillars and arches spaced around the clearing. Drake shielded his eyes, gazing across the tree tops at the thick column of smoke in the distance. He grimaced and nodded towards it. “Think the others are anywhere near that?”

The other man shook his head. “Not if they have any sense. Roman’s men will be swarming the place.” Cullen glanced around at the ruins, taking note of the vine and moss covered arches as they down into the overgrown space. “Are these the same as the ones we were at before?”

Drake nodded. “Same sort of era. Similar designs.” He scanned the courtyard. “You know, I think the way out must be up there.” He pointed at the broken ledge above them. “Looks like a pair of gates up there, which means a road or path of some sort.”

Cullen nodded. “Think you can get up there?”

“You have so little faith in me.”

“I’ve gotten to know you a little better.”

“Just cover me.”

With that, Drake hauled himself up a ruined pillar, taking a moment to steady himself before jumping to another close by, and another, until finally he stood on the ledge. He waved a hand to Cullen, who nodded and stuffed his pistol into its holster before he began to climb.

A shot rang out and Drake spun, pressing himself against the mossy wall as mercenaries filed into the courtyard beyond the gates and took cover behind fallen slabs. He shot one, shaking his head as the others laughed and shouted, “Right between the eyes, Andre!” jeering at their fallen comrade. Drake fired, felling the three men as Cullen leapt across the gap. He pointed and led the way round to the right, through a passage into another courtyard. Cullen grabbed a rifle from a dead mercenary as they went through the doorway, quickly sighting and shooting two men before they had a chance to react.

Drake moved around the courtyard, hauling himself up a wall before jumping across onto a broken pillar and then onto a crumbling wall, making his way across and getting steadily higher. Jumping from pillar to pillar, he finally reached an ornate carved arch above a gate and waited for Cullen to catch up before dropping down the other side into an overgrown chasm. They followed it for a while before it came to another section of the ruins. Cullen hauled Drake behind a wall just as several bullets flew past, edging round to quickly take out the mercenaries that had been waiting.

Drake swore as his gun jammed, leaving it to Cullen to try and get the advancing men. Cullen frowned and cast away the empty pistol. He was reaching for his rifle when two shots sounded from the left, the last of the mercenaries dropping like logs. Cullen and Drake spun, a grin flashing across Drake’s face as Alistair stepped from behind a rock.

“Two for two so far,” Drake said, moving forward to shake Alistair’s hand.

“What?”

“Well, I figured Rockman survived, and that you’re obviously too big to kill.” Drake shrugged. “Right on both counts.”

Alistair eyed him for a moment. “Yeah. Great.” He turned to Cullen, hitching his thumb over his shoulder as Michaela stepped out from behind another pillar. “We made it okay but haven’t a clue about the others. You seen any signs?”

“No. Been too busy dodging bullets with Rambo over here.”

“Hey! _You_ were getting shot when _I_ found _you_. Remember?” Drake rubbed his chin. “But again, kudos for the reference.”

Michaela came over and crossed her arms. “Well, where to now?”

Drake pointed to a short tunnel on the other side of the clearing. “Through there.”

Cullen unslung the rifle from his back, stooping to pick up a pistol and a couple of rounds from one of the mercenaries. Alistair checked the rounds left in his gun before shrugging and doing the same, handing a smaller pistol to Michaela, who tucked it into the small of her back and grabbed a nearby rifle. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she just stared at him.

“What?”

“Figured you’d go for something smaller.”

“Because I’m a girl?”

“Because that’s what you had before.”

She frowned and opened the rifle magazine. “Yeah well, pays to have a bit of extra fire power.”

“Amen to that,” Drake said as he headed towards the tunnel. As the others followed, Alistair glanced up at a makeshift cross fashioned from guns.

“Cheery.”

Michaela glanced at him. “What were you expecting?”

“Oh I don’t know - maybe a thug with a gun and a basket of mini muffins, cheese on the side…”

“So...a welcoming party?”  
“Exactly! We could all hold hands and dance in a circle.” He grinned. “That would give them something to think about.”

They moved single file through the tunnel, Drake in the lead and Alistair bringing up the rear. It opened out into a waterfall, and the moss-covered remains of a bridge across it. Michaela stared at an exposed pillar and the water swirling around its base.

“I don’t think I can jump that far.”

Drake gazed round, his eyes settling on a rock sticking out to their right.

“You don’t have to.”

He jumped across to the rock and began to climb around the rock face, Alistair following close behind. Michaela frowned and jumped before she could think too much about it, making her way around the slick edge after the men, her hand slipping once or twice. She watched as Drake jumped lightly across to the broken pillar and to another before climbing onto a remaining section of the bridge. Alistair jumped across next, waiting for her on the other side. Clinging to the rock beside her, Cullen nodded his head and she jumped, her foot slipping as it hit the edge of the pillar. She flailed for a moment before Alistair grabbed her and hauled her back against his chest. She clung to him, waiting until her heart stopped thudding before looking to the next pillar. Again, Alistair jumped first, waiting in case she needed help again. She gave him a shaky smile before leaping across, grabbing his outstretched hand to steady herself. As Cullen landed beside them, Alistair swung himself up and onto the bridge to where Drake was waiting. He ducked as shots flew past his head, quickly aiming at the top of the waterfall and taking out the two mercenaries. As their bodies dropped into the waterfall and went rushing past, Michaela managed to pull herself up onto the bridge with Cullen right behind her.

“Everybody good?” Drake asked.

When they all nodded, he jumped onto the next two pillars and across to some more ledges, edging his way around the cliff face to the next section of bridge. Alistair followed suit, calling instructions to Michaela who nodded grimly and edged after him. Cullen eyed the top of the waterfall, rifle at the ready, waiting until the others stood on the bridge before making his way across. As he put his weight on the ledge, he felt it begin to give, the rock crumbling beneath his fingers. He moved fast, swinging himself along and leaping to the bridge just as the rock gave way. He landed heavily, grunting as his shoulder took the brunt of it. Climbing to his feet, his eyes dared Drake or Alistair to laugh.

Drake simply met his gaze before turning and jumping over the side of the bridge, down below the level of the waterfall to another protruding rock. He stepped forward, arms beginning to windmill as the ledge gave way and started to slide. Michaela gasped as he slid with it, jumping at the last minute onto another rock. He laughed briefly and waved them down. Michaela stared before turning to Alistair.

“And how do we get down there?”

He glanced at Cullen then knelt and pulled at one of the thicker vines that clung to the rocks. “Ever seen Tarzan?”

She shook her head. “Ohhh no, nah uh. We are not risking our lives on that thing.”

Alistair shrugged. “No choice really. We’ve got to get to him, you want to find your sister. This is the only way.”

She stared at it, then at the gap they had to swing across. He watched, waiting for her decision. She nodded. “Fine. Let’s get it over with.”

Alistair stood up, testing the vine. “I’ll go first, then you, then Cullen.” He grinned at her worried face. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you.” And he jumped.

Michaela and Cullen watched as the vine went taut and held, Alistair swinging out from the rocks and landing lightly beside Drake, who applauded. Cullen caught the vine as Alistair sent it back, hauling it up and fashioning a foothold in it. As Alistair had, he tested it before handing it to Michaela.

“Put your foot in the hold – yes like that. Your weight will hold it in there. Both hands hold the vine, one above the other, not too tight or it’ll burn as though you were holding rope. Yes, good. Right, now jump!”

She squeezed her eyes shut as she hurtled through the air, teeth clenched, not daring to believe it when a pair of strong arms caught her and held her tight.

“Told you I’d catch you.”

She peeked up into Alistair’s tawny eyes as he untangled her from the vine and sent it flying back to Cullen, keeping an arm around her all the while. As Cullen swung across, Drake turned and eyed the next pillar over.

“More climbing, guys,” he said and jumped, clinging to a thin ledge. Michaela sighed and glanced back up at Alistair, her eyes widening as she saw the smile fade and his mouth thin. She followed his grim stare as he pushed her behind him, peering around him at the battered jeep that pulled up with the grinning mercenaries on its back.

“Shit, we’re sitting ducks,” Alistair swore as he took aim, dropping two of the men. Cullen fired, taking out another as Michaela quickly pulled her rifle off her back.  Sighting it, she aimed at one and was about to fire when he moved aside, revealing the oil drum behind him. She fired, exploding the drum and sending the jeep careening off the waterfall.

“Go!” Alistair shouted, and they leapt, following Drake around the pillars and across to where the jeep was wedged between the rocks. They hurried across it, barely making it over before the current swept it away over the falls, taking a large rock with it. They stood gasping and catching their breath, staring after it.

“Did you actually aim for the drum?” Drake asked.

Michaela smiled breathlessly. “You know, actually I did.”

Drake held his hand up for a high five. “Nice one.”

 

…

 

Drake whistled softly. “Oh man…”

He placed his hands on his hips staring up at the red and white plane tail wedged in a tree. Beside him, Alistair shook his head. “I thought you said you could fly a plane?”

“I _can_.” Drake shrugged. “This one just had a...malfunction. Besides, I wasn’t controlling it when it crashed.”

“Look there.” Michaela pointed to the right.

They followed her gaze across the clearing, a trail of debris leading to where the other half of the plane was stranded in another tree, several mercenaries staring up at it. One man slid down a rope from the wrecked cabin, shouting something down to his comrades.

“Doesn’t look good,” Drake said.

“Understatement of the century, dude,” Alistair drawled.

Cullen scanned the clearing. “Only a handful of guards. About five or six each.”

Michaela glanced at him incredulously. “You call that a handful?”

“We can take them.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Cullen pointed to the left. “You and Alistair take out the ones on that side. Drake and I will cover this lot.”

They nodded and split off, edging around until they had clear shots. One by one, they took the guards down, moving forward until they stood at the base of the tree. Drake put his hands on his hips and gazed up at the plane. Reaching for the rope, he tested it before hauling himself up and into the wreckage. As he straightened, the plane rocked unsteadily.

“Whoa…okay…” he murmured before stepping carefully into the cockpit and searching for the map. He grinned as it fluttered on the dash, half covered in broken glass. He grabbed it and turned, staggering slightly as the plane tilted again. Glancing out the window, his eye caught a white movement on a distant tower. Snatching a pair of binoculars from the floor, he focussed on the blur.

“Oh no. Elena…”

He moved quickly back to the rope, sliding down it to where the others waited.

“Well?” Cullen asked.

“There’s a parachute stuck, about a mile or two away. We should head that way, find Elena-”

“And Brianna,” Michaela interjected.

“- and Brianna before Roman’s men do.”

They nodded and followed him as he led the way through the jungle. As they rounded a corner, a guard stepped out, gun aimed to shoot. Alistair moved swiftly in front of Michaela, lifting his rifle. The guard took another step and a faint click sounded. As he spun towards the sound, a rough trap swung around the tree. Blood sprayed as spikes drove through him, not giving him time to shriek before his life drained away in gurgling groans.

Drake pulled a face. “Better watch where we step.”

Michaela stepped out from behind Alistair. “No kidding.” She eyed the guard and shuddered, stepping around the blood spreading across the ground. “Hell of a way to go.”

Alistair put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s just…yeah.”

“Come on. Try not to think about it.”

Drake led them past the dead man and pointed up at a large fortress. “Elena’s somewhere in there.” He held up a hand as Michaela opened her mouth. “ _And_ I assume Brianna’s there as well.”

Cullen glanced along the cliff. The path petered out, dropping away completely after a few hundred feet. “How, exactly, are we supposed to get there?”

He frowned as Drake grinned and sauntered down the path.

“Well, you know, we could be boring and head back the way we came…” Drake called over his shoulder.

Cullen’s eyes narrowed. “Or?”

“Why take the long road when we can take the scenic route?” With that, Drake leapt across a gap to another ledge. He waved back at the others. “Come on! It’s easy enough!”

“Says you,” Michaela muttered. She peered over the edge to the roiling sea below and shook her head. “I must be crazy.”

They jumped after Drake, groaning as he led them up and along the cliff until they finally dropped into another clearing. As they landed, Drake put a finger to his lips, silently pointing at the guards standing several metres away. Cullen nodded grimly and aimed at the first one, signalling for Alistair to take the second. Drake rolled his eyes and fired, catching the first in the head before taking out the second with a clean shot to the heart. As the others stared at him, he shrugged.

“Told you I could shoot.”

More men ran out from behind ruined walls, a hail of bullets filling the clearing. Alistair began to fire, felling several men to the right as Cullen covered the left. Michaela fired a few shots before Alistair shoved her down behind the ledge.

“Hey!”

“Just stay down!” he hissed.

She glared. “That’s bullshit! You know I can shoot!”

“Just stay down!”

Michaela watched for a moment as he fired again before dropping down to reload. “Alistair, look-”

“No, you look.” He ducked as a bullet whizzed above their heads. “It’s a damn melee out there and I don’t want to risk you getting taken out by some trigger happy-”

She snorted and stood, swiping a grenade from Drake’s belt. Before Alistair could utter another word, she’d pulled the pin and hurled the explosive into the midst of the mercenaries. As she crouched down again, the bomb detonated, the blast filling the air with screams. Alistair stared as she clicked more rounds into her gun and stood up again, taking aim beside Cullen and felling a couple of men within moments. As the last man dropped, she clambered up over the ledge and began restocking her ammo from the nearest bodies. Cullen glanced at Alistair.

“Weren’t you the one that said the girls could handle themselves?”

Alistair groaned and got to his feet. “Actually, that was Drake.”

“But didn’t you agree with him?”  
“Yeah.” He glanced at Michaela. “Yeah, I did.”

“So the problem is?”  
“...Nothing.” Alistair turned to Drake, ignoring the smirk on the other man’s face. “Where to from here?”

Drake pointed through the clearing. “Where do you think?” He ambled off through the ruins, stooping to retrieve ammo from a couple of bodies. The others followed him, picking up what they could.

Alistair fell in step with Michaela and nudged her arm. “Hey. Sorry. Don’t be mad at me?”

“I’m not mad.” She glanced up at him. “Nor am I a damsel in distress.”

“I never said you were a damsel.”

“Yeah, but not letting me hold my own? That’s as good as saying I’m useless and just need a guy to rescue me.”

He grinned. “Point taken. Any points in my favour if I say I want you safe?”

“Half a point maybe.”  
“Ah, an excellent scoring system.”

Michaela narrowed her eyes.“Are you making fun of me?”

“Make fun of you, dear lady?” He swooped low in a mocking bow. “Perish the thought.”

She huffed and stalked ahead, leaving him grinning behind her.

Cullen led the way along the clifftop road until they reached the giant fortress. Drake tilted his head back, shielding his eyes as he gazed up the immense stone façade.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the time delay. While the entire fic is basically written, I'm only posting the chapters once I'm happy with them.
> 
> Hope you liked Michaela getting a bit more active - she's actually quite badass but I'm struggling with actually conveying that in my writing. She seemed to be getting a little too useless for my liking.
> 
> Any feedback would be much appreciated :)


	7. The Fortress

“Okay, so how are we getting in?” Alistair asked.

Drake walked back and forth in front of the wall, testing the strength of a metal grate set in the stone. There was no give so he left it and stepped back, silently counting the ledges. Peering round the corner, he continued counting, mentally mapping a path to the unbarred window up near the top. Nodding to himself, he turned back to the others.

“Okay, looks like it’s gonna be another climb.”

Michaela pushed past him to peer round the corner. She flung him an incredulous look. “You aiming at  _ that _ window?”

“Yup.”

She shook her head. “Then you’re gonna have to count me out. There’s no way my arms will hold up long enough to get me there.”

“We can’t leave you on your own.”

Michaela waved a hand. “I’ll be fine.”

“No.” Alistair shook his head. “Absolutely not. We’re not leaving anyone behind, okay?”

“We have to find the others.” Drake gestured towards the fortress. “It’s kinda why we’re here.”   
Alistair crossed his arms. “And here I thought the point of this was to get everyone  _ back together. _ As in,  _ all in one place. _ ”

Cullen rubbed his chin as he stared up at the window. “What if I went on with Drake and you two found another way around?”

“How is that not leaving someone behind?” Drake asked.

“Either way, she’s not able to make it up the wall.” Cullen glanced at her and she waved the comment away. “Our best bet is leaving Alistair with her and making our way up the wall.”

Alistair exhaled heavily. “Yeah, that could work actually.”

Michaela looked between them, frowning as she again looked up at the window. “Look, I don’t want to be any trouble…”

“I don’t mind,” Alistair said, flashing her a quick grin. “Saves me doing the monkey act with these two.”

Drake raised an eyebrow. “Cause that doesn’t sound dirty at all.” He gave Alistair a quick punch on the arm before reaching to haul himself up the wall. Cullen watched him for a moment, noting the best spots to aim for before he turned to shake Alistair’s hand.

“Make your way back around, see if you can find another way in. And stay alive.”

“Wow, Cullen, I’m touched. Really.”

“Just get there in one piece.”

“See you on the other side, man.”

He turned and pulled himself up after Drake, edging up and along the ledges. Alistair watched for a minute before turning to Michaela.

“Come on, if they catch the eye of some guard, we don’t want to be anywhere near.”

She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you for staying with me. I know you’re meant to stay with Drake.”

He grinned down at her and started back the way they’d come, still holding her hand. “Ah it’s nothing. Believe me, I’d much rather be here than up there.”

…

 

High above the sea, Drake glanced back at Cullen.

“Eyes ahead, don’t look down.”

“Just move, Drake. The faster you go, the less time we spend hanging around.”

“You know, I think Alistair’s humour’s rubbing off on you.”

Cullen ignored him, leaning back slightly to squint up at the window. Drake sighed and kept going, finally hauling himself up and through the dark space. Rolling off the sill, he lay gasping on the floor.

“Ah, thank you God…”

Cullen dropped down lightly beside him. “Come on, this way.” He headed off down a small tunnel, glancing around as it opened into a small room. Frowning, he leaned out through the only window. Drake stumbled in after him, groaning as he got the same idea. “Oh you can’t be serious.”

“It’s the only way.” And with that, Cullen swung out the window and began to climb once more. Drake rolled his eyes and followed, reaching for the next ledge. “Oh, God, wasn’t I just out here?”

“Shut up and climb.”

They made their way slowly up towards another window. Drake swore as the rusted bars across it came into view. “We’re gonna have to bust through it.”

Cullen flung him a sarcastic look. “No, really?”

Drake ignored him, grabbing a vine hanging down in front of the window. He tested it, putting his weight carefully on it. “Alright – alright, it’ll hold me.” And with that he began to run, building momentum along the wall until he could push out and swing straight back, kicking through the bars. Rolling to the floor, he glanced back as Cullen pulled himself up and onto the sill, barely out of breath.

“God, don’t you  _ ever _ get tired?”

Cullen opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a shout. He ducked behind the wall, taking careful aim as mercenaries came running round the corner. Drake rolled to the other side, pulling out his gun and firing.

They ran past the bodies, winding through the fortress until they made it into an open area, vines and grasses clinging to the weathered ruins. Drake led the way down into an old courtyard, pressing himself against the edge of an old tunnel as more mercenaries ran in. The air filled with gunfire as Cullen took cover behind a rock, picking off the mercenaries as they tried to make it through the tunnel. Drake risked a look round the corner into the next courtyard, swearing as he caught sight of a machine gun in the hands of a grinning mercenary. The man  swung the gun round and began firing a continuous line at Drake, swinging back and forth over the entrance to the tunnel. Cullen ducked as the line whizzed over his head, quickly reloading and aiming as it swung back towards Drake. Peering down the rifle, he fired, taking the man out with a single shot to the head. Drake waved his thanks as he ran, seizing control of the machine and taking out the last of the guards.

Cullen jerked his head and ran quickly up the stairs onto the battlements, glancing around for any sign of the two women. Drake pointed at the remains of a tower, and the parachute flapping from it. Cullen shielded his eyes.

“Nobody in it.”

Drake glanced across at him. “That’s either very good. Or very bad.”

Cullen nodded. “Brianna wouldn’t let anyone take her very easily.”

“Neither would Elena.”

“Well…”

“What?”

“Out of the two of them, who’s more capable with a gun?”

“…Brianna.” Drake grinned suddenly and rubbed his chin. “But Elena can pack a punch.”

They scouted around a bit more, splitting up to look for any sign of the girls. When they circled back to each other, they were both empty handed. Cullen shook his head.

“I didn’t see any signs of a struggle.”

“Well, that’s something.” Drake hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I did find a zip line over there.”

“That’s our way down then.”

“Yeah. You wanna go first?”

Cullen rolled his eyes. “If you say so.” He followed Drake over to the line, hooked his gun over it and slid away into the ruins. Drake whistled.

“Tough son-of-a-bitch. Didn’t even blink.” He chuckled suddenly. “And now I’m talking to myself on top of a ruined tower. Guess who gets picked for Man of the Year.” And with that, he followed Cullen down the line.

He dropped through the roof to an office, jumping slightly as Cullen grabbed his arm and pointed out the window. Following his gaze, he spotted Brianna leaning out an upstairs alcove, camera in hand as she filmed.

“What the hell is she doing?”

Cullen raised an eyebrow. “Filming.”

“Yeah well I got that much.”

“Elena’s with her.”

“What?”

“Neither of them look hurt, so that’s a plus.”

“Well yeah…let’s just get to them before they get themselves killed.”

“They seem to be doing alright so far.”

Drake leaned towards the window, looking out into the courtyard below them. Across from them, Brianna and Elena ran off further into the fortress. Drake swore, hitting the desk.

“We should’ve got their attention somehow.”

“Song and dance routine, perhaps?”

“Yeah, Alistair’s definitely rubbing off on you.”

Cullen rolled his eyes. “My point is, if you had tried, you would have got  _ his _ attention.” He pointed down to the rusted gate where a guard stood smoking a cigarette.

“Hmmm…” Drake watched as the guard lifted a walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

“ _ Ha-low”  _ came through the microphone beside them. They exchanged glances as Drake switched it on and spoke into it.

“Uh, buka pintu.”

” _ Siapa ini? Bicara sekarang!” _

Drake scratched his head. “Ah crap.  _ Sialan lo! Cepatan, buka pintu _ !”

Cullen was watching the guard. “Drake, maybe you shouldn’t…”

“ _ Ah, tai!” _ The guard hurried off, disappearing into the tunnel. A moment later, the gate started opening.

Drake laughed. “It worked!”

Cullen frowned. “I’m not so sure.”

“Aw, come on, Cullen. Just trust me for a min-”

Four armed guards ran through the open gate into the courtyard. One of them pointed up.

“There he is!”

Drake swore and ducked away from the window, pulling out his gun. Cullen shot him a look that clearly said  _ I told you so _ and kicked open the door, moving quickly to fire from behind a broken wall. They took the guards out and leapt down, running through the gate into the tunnel.

Cullen grabbed Drake and hauled him back as machine gun fire echoed around them. Peering out, they could see the gun mounted on a turret, easily covering the tunnel.

“How do I always get myself into this crap?” Drake groaned.

Cullen fired a couple of shots. “Perhaps by running headlong into everything?”

“Shut up, smartass.”

He shouted as a grenade fell between them, the red light flashing. Cullen glanced down, reaching quickly to throw it back towards the mercenaries. They cried out as it landed amongst them, blowing the guard off the turret. Drake cheered and led the way down into more tunnels. 

Keeping their guns up, they wound their way through the ruins, light filtering in through the broken stone, steadily getting dimmer as the path led down. Here and there, Roman’s men had placed floodlights, filling the rooms with harsh white light.

Drake held up a hand, making a rabbit shape on one of the walls. “Hey, think we could distract them with this?”

Cullen rolled his eyes and headed through another doorway. Drake chuckled and followed him until they found themselves staring at a half submerged tunnel. 

“You don’t have an unholy fear of water, do you?” he asked.

“No.”

“Good.” Drake jumped down, water splashing around his knees and quickly soaking his jeans. He lifted his soaking feet and eyed them with distaste. “This place could use a good plumber.”

Cullen splashed down beside him. “Keep an eye out.”

“Why? Smell an ambush?”

Several armed mercenaries dropped from the ledges above them.

“Sonofabitch!” Drake yelled. “Where did they come from?”

Cullen ignored him, pressing against a pillar and firing into the throng. Drake edged around until he could crouch behind a wall, hissing as the cold water soaked his legs even further. Together they fired, mercenaries dropping as the bullets hit home. One managed to make his way around behind them but Cullen swung round, grabbing him and flinging him hard against the rock wall. Dropping the unconscious man, he fired several more rounds, taking out the last one as he made to drop down on Drake.

Drake scanned the room, checking for any more as Cullen moved methodically between them. He nodded as he found a much newer pistol and several rounds of ammo, clipping them onto his belt.

“Let’s move on,” he said. “The others can’t be that far ahead.”

Drake glanced around at the dead men. “How’d the girls even make it past this lot?”

Cullen smiled grimly. “It seems they’re a bit more subtle than you.”

“Thanks.”

Drake clambered up a pile of rubble and jumped to a nearby pillar, making his way across to another rusted gate. He lay on the ledge and held out his arm for Cullen to grab, hauling him up beside him. At Cullen’s nod, he kicked at the gate, popping open the lock, and pushed his way through to the other side. 


	8. Unlocking the Past

Shivering in his wet jeans, Drake led the way up the cracked and crumbling stairs and into another tunnel. He frowned as he rounded yet another corner and found no sign of the girls. Cullen eyed the chains hanging from the walls.

“Good thing they weren’t caught,” he said, nodding at the chains. “The pirates might have found a use for those.”

“Yeah.” Drake rubbed his hand over his eyes and continued on. “Jesus, Elena, where are you?”

Cullen just shrugged and led the way through the tunnel out into the light. He was about to continue on when Drake grabbed his arm, shaking his head. “Wait a minute.” He pointed up at the tall thin tower covered with ornate designs. “There’s something important about that tower.”

“What?”

“I don’t know…” he pulled out the map and looked at the bottom corner. “There’s something here – sonofabitch!” he ducked and rolled away as two guards came into view and started firing at them. 

Cullen swing the rifle up and took them out with two clean shots. “You were saying.”

Drake got to his feet. “Heh, let’s just go check out the tower.” 

He made his way up to it, spotting a lever nestled in the brush at its base. “Aha, what’s this?” He pulled the lever and opened a gate below them. 

Cullen nodded to him and went through the open gate to an open area. Drake followed him through and, moving past, climbed to the top of a pillar at the back. Looking up, he grabbed hold of a rope and swung towards a higher pillar. Kicking out, he pushed himself away as it began to crumble, dropping away as the rope gave. He heard Cullen shout and rolled quickly as piles of bricks and debris rained down, almost on top of him. Climbing shakily to his feet, he dusted himself off.

“Close one, huh?”

Cullen narrowed his eyes. “How often does this sort of thing happen to you, exactly?”

“Far too often.” Drake laughed and scrambled up the pile of debris, using it to climb onto the archway above the gate, swiftly making his way to the top of the building. 

Clambering across the wall, he found himself on a ledge beside the tower marked on the map. As he stared up at it, the ledge began to crumble.

“Oh no – oh no no no no no no NO NO!” He jumped away from the ledge as it fell and grabbed hold of another one on the side of the tower. Glancing back down, he saw Cullen shaking his head and sidestepping the latest pile of debris. Edging his way up and around, Drake managed to climb to the top of tower, rolling inside to come face to face with a skeleton on the floor. Pulling a face, he got to his feet and peered over the edge of the rotting floor to the base of the tower far below him. Moving back to the skeleton, he pushed it and a rope over the edge and bent to pick up the key beneath it. Pocketing it, he grabbed hold of the rope and climbed down the centre of the structure, dropping lightly to the floor and going out to where Cullen waited patiently. He held up the keys and grinned in triumph.

“Just give me a minute to unlock this…” he tried using the keys on a locked door in the corner. “Hmmm, no.” He glanced nervously back to where Cullen stood impassive before fitting another key to the lock. “All right!” he laughed as it turned smoothly.

Cullen moved through the doorway. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Drake followed him into a room lined with prison cells. Eyeing them uneasily, he unslung the rifle from his back. “Where the hell are the girls?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“For all the good it’ll do.”

They continued through the fortress, pausing every now and then to take out a couple of guards as quietly as possible. Eventually they reached a room with a map drawn directly onto the wall. Drake glanced round the room, walking over to a wooden table in the centre. Grabbing a metal helmet, he held it up for Cullen to see. “These aren’t Spanish – they’re English.”

“English…meaning Sir Francis?”

“Perhaps.” Drake walked over to a floodlight and carefully shone it on the map on the wall. He whistled softly. “Whoa.”

Cullen moved to stand beside him, gazing at the message scrawled in the corner of the map. “’ _ Fletcher – we have gone to the great tower. I pray you will meet us there. Francis Drake. _ ’ So he did make it after all.”

“Yeah,” Drake murmured. “But what was he plotting?”

He jerked his head towards the stairs. “Come on.”

Outside, he pointed at a giant tower opposite them. “That must be Drake’s tower.”

Cullen nodded, glancing around for any sign of the mercenaries. They moved carefully along the sun-drenched battlements, Cullen dragging Drake behind a broken wall just as some guards rounded the corner. They took them out easily enough, Drake dragging one of the closer ones over the wall and snapping his neck, earning an approving look from Cullen. They ran through an old doorway into a ruined room, Drake leaping swiftly onto a pillar and hauling himself up. Cullen followed suit until they both stood on a section of the crumbling wall, balancing their way across until they reached a ledge opposite the tower. Drake pointed at the series of pillars set across the courtyard far below. Cullen nodded and leapt to the first one, edging his way around before leaping to the next and shimmying along the wall. Drake followed until they could both swing up and into an open window of the tower, landing in a room filled with boxes. Drake held a finger to his lips and pointed up the stairs. Cullen gave him a blank stare and followed him into an open room with three arches opening onto a magnificent view of the sea. Drake walked over to a wooden table and picked up a telescope.

“This must’ve been Drake’s.”

Cullen looked at it briefly. “Or it belongs to the mercenaries.”

“Nah, it’s covered in dust. They haven’t touched it.” He walked out to the balcony and looked through the telescope. “So what was he looking for?” He focussed on an orange-domed building in the distance. “Hey Cullen – does that look familiar to you?”

“What?”

“That building.”

“No. But then, you wouldn’t let anyone else near the diary to see what was in it.”

“How long are you gonna hold that one over me?”

“As long as you keep asking if I recognise things from it.”

“Funny guy.” He moved to peer down at the cliffside on the edge of the island and spotted the two girls, Brianna filming as Elena stood with her back to the sea, clearly talking. “Elena!”

A guttural voice came from below. “Hey, there they are.”

Drake leaned over to see two guards aiming at the women with a grenade launcher. He fired quickly at one of the guards. The guard spun round as he missed, firing the grenade launcher at Drake’s balcony, laughing as it began to crumble.

“We got them!”

Drake managed to intercept the filthy look Cullen gave him before he hit the ground and everything went black.

…

 

Alistair pushed his way through the thick undergrowth, holding the palm leaves out the way as Michaela followed him. He glanced at her face, noting the strain around her eyes and mouth.

“Hey, you okay?”

She looked up at him, nodding briefly as he let the branches fall back. She moved past him, pushing through the last of the bushes to stand on the edge of a cliff. Below them, the sea crashed on the rocks, white frothing as the water swirled. Behind them, the fortress wall ran along and crumbled to a stop, leaving a gap near the edge of the cliff. 

She glanced up at him. “Looks like we made it around.”

“Yeah.” Alistair smiled. “Told you we would.”

She nodded and shielded her eyes as she gazed up at the impassive façade. “Here’s hoping it leads to the others…” She sighed and dropped her hand. “Where do you think they are, anyway?”

“I don’t know. Could be anywhere by now.”

They edged along the cliff, moving slowly until they could clamber over the broken section. More bushes and trees grew along the inside of the wall, vines crawling across the broken stones and spilling out over the cliff.  Before them, the fortress rose up, still impressive despite the ruin. Alistair took Michaela’s hand again, pulling her into the cover as a guard wandered out from under an overhanging balcony. They crouched, watching as the man looked around before lighting a cigarette and unzipping his fly. Michaela put a hand over her nose, turning away as the stink of urine wafted towards them. Alistair reached slowly for his gun, screwing up his nose as the man hummed and flicked the last few drops off. The guard sighed, drawing heavily on his cigarette before stubbing it out against the wall and meandering towards them. Alistair glanced at Michaela, putting his finger to his lips and motioning for her to move back into the bushes. She nodded, disappearing into the foliage and watching as Alistair pressed himself behind a tree. The guard wandered towards them, kicking at the vines and rocks, still humming to himself. As Michaela watched, he strolled past Alistair, unaware of the other man’s presence until it was too late and a burly arm was around his neck, a hand clamping across his mouth before he could so much as squeak. Before her eyes, the man’s face turned purple as the arm tightened around his neck, cutting the air from his lungs until his eyes bulged and he went limp. Alistair lowered the body to the ground, shoving it under some low-hanging brush before turning to Michaela. She stared at him, her gaze flicking between his face and the dead man. He glanced down, grimacing at the man’s mottled face, then held out a hand to her, silently waiting for her to take it.

A moment of hesitation then she placed her hand in his, letting him pull her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her head under his chin as his arms circled her shoulders.

“You still okay?” he asked softly.

She nodded, turning her head slightly to press her face into his chest.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“…No.” She sniffed suddenly. “I just…really don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve never had to deal with... _ this _ before _. _ ” She waved a hand at the body. “And there’s been a  _ lot _ of ...that.”

“Well…look, I’ll try and make sure you don’t have to kill anyone else-”

Michaela shook her head. “No, it’s…I know they’d kill us without even thinking about it. And I know I’m able to kill  _ them. _ I just...” 

Alistair paused, resting his chin on her hair. “Your sister, then?”

“Yeah.” She pushed away, moving so she couldn’t see the dead man anymore. She ran a hand through her hair, its plait long since coming apart. “I mean, where the hell is she, Alistair? Seriously – what happened with the fucking parachutes? We all jumped within half a minute of each other – and  _ we _ ended up landing near each other – so why the hell are she and Elena missing?!” She turned away quickly, wiping her eyes angrily on her sleeve.

Alistair glanced around before putting a hand gently on her shoulder. “I honestly don’t know. Maybe they got caught in a different cross breeze. Who knows?” He turned her towards him and cupped her face. “I do know that the others won’t stop until they find them. And neither will we.”

She stared at him before nodding slowly and shifting to lean against him. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her again, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“If you lovebirds are done…”

They sprang apart, both reaching for their weapons at the sound of the dry voice. Michaela laughed suddenly and grabbed hold of Brianna as she sauntered through the bushes, pulling her into a tight hug before punching her arm.

“Jesus, B! You had me shit scared!”

Brianna grinned and rubbed her arm. “Awww, I didn’t know you cared.”

“Care? I was trying to figure out how to tell Mum without being killed.” Michaela pulled Brianna back into the hug. “Seriously, where the hell have you  _ been _ ?”

Elena pushed through the leaves, brushing webs and twigs from her arms. “Trekking through that.” She hooked a thumb towards the old fortress. “Got some sweet footage.”

“What happened with the parachutes?” Alistair asked.

“Drifted away from you lot,” Brianna answered. “The lines had some sort of problem and I couldn’t seem to get back, so I just went with it.” She grinned suddenly. “You could say I had to...  _ go with the flow _ .” 

The others all groaned. Brianna laughed and gestured behind her. “Ended up landing in a ruined tower somewhere in the fortress. Cut myself down, found Elena dangling not too far away and we’ve been making our way out ever since.” She clicked her fingers and pointed to Michaela. “True story.”

Michaela rolled her eyes. “Whatever. How’d you get past the goons?”

Brianna raised an eyebrow. “We snuck past. How else would we do it?”

Alistair laughed suddenly. “If you were Drake, there would have been an explosion by now.”

“Speaking of which,” Elena cut in. “We need to get him and Cullen out of jail.”

“What?!” Michaela glanced at Brianna, who shrugged.

“Yeah,” she said. “Somehow, they got caught after an idiot with a grenade launcher blew up the balcony they were on.”

“And they survived?” Michaela looked sceptical.

“Those two?” Alistair said. “Cockroach and Rockman? Unkillable.”

Elena frowned. “Cockroach and Rockman?”

He waved a hand. “Long story.”

“Riight…” she turned to the other women. “So we need to get them out.”

Brianna’s eyes gleamed. “You know, I saw a jeep parked back that way.” She hitched a thumb over her shoulder towards the fortress.

“And how does that help us?” Michaela asked.

Her sister shrugged. “We know where they are.” She grinned suddenly. “And I have a plan.”

“Oh god, here we go…”

….

 

Drake groaned as he squinted in the harsh afternoon light streaming through the cell window. He flinched as something hit his face, and again as another hit his side. Sitting up quickly, he spotted Brianna’s grinning face looking in through the bars of the window.

“I know I’m not a big time treasure hunter like you, but I doubt you’re gonna find El Dorado in there.”

Drake stood up clutching his head, swinging around and towards the window to avoid Cullen’s glare from the corner.

“How is it you always end up in some kind of mess?” she asked.

Drake chuckled slightly. “This time we were trying to rescue you, as a matter of fact.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet.” She looked at the wall closely. “Traditional sandstone brick and stucco…limestone mortar…huh.” She ran a hand over the bricks.

Drake shot her an incredulous look. “How’d  _ you _ get to know so much about this?”

Brianna shrugged. “Their show – episode four, ‘Architects of the New World.’” She tugged on the bars. “Yup, it’ll just take a tug to pull these out.” She clicked her tongue, winked and jumped down out of sight.

Drake grabbed the bars. “What? No, wait…are you sure-”

He broke off as a familiar voice sounded outside the door. “Get out of my way,  _ bodah _ !”

Drake exchanged glances with Cullen, who got to his feet and moved to stand in front of the window, blocking it mostly from view. The voice sounded again. “ _ Cepatan _ , open this goddamn door!”

The door flung open and a short man in a gaudy yellow shirt and khaki vest strode in, swinging a pistol in his hand. He focussed on Drake as an armed guard filed in behind him.

“Heeey Drake.”

Drake eyed him, smiling thinly. “Eddy Raja. I shoulda guessed.”

Eddy held up Drake’s map as he walked over to the cell. “Fascinating document, huh?” He unfolded it. “Seems like this ‘Sir Francis’ was in my line of work.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Eddy.”

Eddy eyed him for a moment before chuckling. “Always ready to be enemies, eh?” He sat on a nearby wooden table, propping his feet up on the chair. “Tell you what – lead me to the gold, and I just might let you live.” He took out a golden gun, brandishing it loosely in his hand.

Drake laughed. “Is that it? Is that my deal? Die now, or help you, and die later.” He shook his head and moved to grip the cell bars. “It’s a tough call, but you know what? I’ll take ‘die now’.”

Eddy jumped off the table angrily. “ _ Tai kamu _ ! Listen to me, maggot – I was promised treasure on this goddamn rock!” He shook his head. “And now my men are dying.” He put his face close to Drake’s. “They can’t even go outside to take a piss without an armed guard, and I have nothing to show for it!”

He turned away in anger, banging his fist against the doorway. Cullen glanced over his shoulder as Brianna’s hand came up and hung a hook around the window bars. Eddy turned back to Drake.

“I am making you a fair offer. You help me find the treasure, and the last man alive gets the gold…and the girls, of course.”

“The girls?” Drake laughed again. “Oh Eddy, the girls are long gone. They’re probably off the island by now, going for help.”

Eddy watched his face for a moment before he smiled. “ _ Tai kucing _ – you were never very good at poker. I will find them. Trust me. After all, how much trouble can a couple of girls be?”

The back wall exploded away, light flooding the cell. Cullen ran to the jeep and swung up into the back, Elena offering a quick smile from the passenger seat as Brianna stood up from the wheel.

“Well? Come on!!” she yelled. Drake snatched the map from the astonished Eddy. “Thank you.”

“Hey! Goddamn it-”

He ran out the back wall, over the bricks and rubble and swung himself up beside Cullen. “Okay! Nice work!”

Brianna shot him a grin. “Thanks.”

Back in the prison, Eddy turned to the armed guard. “Hey hey,  _ buka pintu _ !”

They rushed to unlock the cell door. Drake hauled himself up, taking charge of the mounted machine gun as Brianna started the jeep. “Hang on!” she cried as she reversed out of the courtyard and sped off.

“ _ Hentikan mereka _ !” Eddy yelled. “After them!”

His armed guard opened fire as the jeep sped off and out of sight.


	9. Out of the Frying Pan

They sped through the jungle, the jeep bouncing over roots and rocks as Brianna clung to the steering wheel.

“Go! Go!” Drake shouted. He glanced at her face. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Do I look like I’ve got time to give you a guided tour?!”

“Time for jokes though, huh?”

“Of course!” Brianna glanced back at Cullen. “Although I’ll have to postpone the flirting until later.”

Drake shot Cullen a look and laughed slightly as the other man blushed and rubbed his neck. His laughter cut off as the jeep bounced over a rock and swerved into a tunnel, the sound of the engine thrown back at them from the stone walls.

Cullen leaned over to shout to Elena. “Have you seen the other two?”

“Alistair and Michaela?”

He frowned at her and she nodded. “Yeah, we had a rendezvous up ahead. If we can just get to-”

She broke off as they shot out of the tunnel and guards began appearing on quad bikes, followed by trucks. As the bullets began to fly, Brianna swore.

“Get them on the radio – tell them to meet us…” she risked a glance back at Drake. “Any idea where we should head?”

He twisted to look at her as he fired off a few shots. “Yeah, tell them to head to the old buildings in the harbour – the ones with the orange roofs.”

As Elena hunched down in her seat and shouted into a walkie-talkie, Cullen and Drake picked off the guards on the bikes, with Drake taking out the tires on the trucks.

Brianna glanced out to her left. “They’re coming in from the sides!”

Cullen swung around, firing at one that pulled up alongside them and aimed at Brianna. He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as the man tumbled from his bike before he aimed to the right and took out two more.

The jeep skidded round a corner and rocketed along a rocky cliff edge. Drake’s eyes widened as he took in the steep drop. “Whoa whoa whoa! Watch the cliff!”

Brianna ignored him, pressing the accelerator to the floor as more men on bikes and in trucks poured out of the jungle behind them. Drake continued firing as Cullen reloaded, swearing as they ducked to avoid the bullets.

Brianna swore suddenly and slammed on the breaks as they skidded to a stop at the edge of another cliff. Drake glanced around.

“Oooh no no no no no NO! Crap! I said watch THE CLIFF!

She reversed the car and sped off back in the opposite direction, risking a glance at the two men. “Alright back there?”

“Just drive!” Drake yelled.

A  truck appeared round a corner, speeding straight towards them.The mercenary behind the wheel grinned at them as the much larger vehicle bore down on their jeep.

“Look out!” Elena screamed.

Cullen grabbed a grenade launcher from the floor and fired at the truck, exploding it and sending it flying over their heads as the jeep zipped past. Brianna flicked him an appreciative look before flooring the accelerator.They sped off again, more guards in pursuit, forcing them off the road and into a tunnel blocked by debris. Cullen aimed the launcher again.

“Don’t slow down.”

Brianna shot him an incredulous look. “But-”

“Don’t slow down.”

She put her foot down as he took aim and fired, blasting the way clear. She yanked suddenly on the wheel, hauling the jeep round to the left and narrowly avoiding driving over a cliff.

“W-wh-whoa CLIFF!” Drake shouted.

“I see it!” she yelled back. She put her foot down again and sped along the narrow track, the guards still pursuing them.

Elena suddenly screamed and pointed. Up ahead a bridge had given way, leaving a huge gaping chasm across the road. Brianna gripped the wheel and pressed her foot harder to the floor.

“Uh…” Elena gripped the handle on her side. “Brianna?”

“Hold on!”

She sped up, gripping the wheel as the edge sped closer. Elena shut her eyes as they shot off the bridge, nothing but air beneath them. Time stood still as wind whistled past her ears and a bird screeched away from the cliffs. She felt weightless, the handle gripped in her clenched fist the only thing that seemed real.

The jeep thumped down, jarring them all as it landed safely on the other side. 

Elena laughed breathlessly. “We made it!”

“I can’t believe that worked!” Drake exclaimed.

“Well, I was told not to slow down.” Brianna glanced in the mirror, catching Cullen’s smile as his eyes met hers. 

Elena turned around to face Drake. “So who was that guy?”

“Just an old business asso – oh LOOK OUT!”

Brianna braked hard, skidding to a stop as the road came to an end. She swerved the jeep around, the rear skidding until it teetered on the edge of another broken bridge. Drake lost his grip and fell, just grabbing hold of the spare tire on the back. Cullen lunged, reaching out to grip his arm and haul him back into the jeep, grunting with the weight. Moving to sit behind the front seats, Drake nodded his thanks and tried to slow his breathing.

Elena gasped. “Oh, you’re bleeding!”

Drake glanced down at his side. “Goes with the territory.”

Brianna looked over her shoulder. “Sorry about that. Are we all good to go?” As they nodded, she started the jeep again and tried to drive forward. “Shit. What’s stopping it?”

Cullen leaned over to look. “Back tyre stuck over the edge of the bridge.”

A slow clapping filled the air and they looked back to see Eddy walking towards them with his guards. “Going somewhere?” he laughed.

“Apparently not,” Brianna muttered.

Drake gave a weak wave. “Hey, Eddy!”

Eddy pulled out a shotgun and began waving it around. “Did you really think you could escape from  _ me? _ ”

“No, no,” Drake waved a hand at the two women. “Just giving the girls here the ten dollar tour.”

Brianna glanced at him. “I thought I was the tour guide?”

Eddy stamped his foot suddenly. “Shut it! I bet you’re working for them too!”

“What?”

“You thought you could set me up and keep everything for yourselves, hmmm?” Eddy fired the shotgun at the jeep, shattering the window as they all ducked. 

“Damn it,” Elena said. “This guy’s crazy!”

Drake raised his hands as he cautiously looked up from behind the seats. “Eddy, take it easy, buddy.”

Eddy laughed. “Well, you’re out of luck now. And out of road.” He cocked the shotgun. “Now, give me that map.”

Brianna glanced around at the others. “Hold on,” she whispered.

Drake looked at her. “What?”

When she frowned at him and gestured towards the gear stick, he nodded. Looking back up at Eddy, he smiled slightly. “Okay, you got me, fair and square.”

Eddy aimed the shotgun at him. “Hey, don’t move!”

“Relax, Eddy. I’m just getting the map, like you asked.”

“Drake, make sure you’re holding on, damn it,” Brianna hissed.

“I am.”

Eddy narrowed his eyes. “Well, hand it over.”

Drake chuckled. “Well now, you told me not to move. Looks like you’re gonna have to come get it.”

“ _ Tai kamu _ !”

Brianna slammed her foot down on the accelerator, wheel skidding as the jeep sped off the edge of the bridge. 

Elena screamed as they fell, plummeting into the water below.


	10. The Drowned City

Michaela stared at the buildings below them, the once-white stones covered in green moss and slime, dark age showing in the cracks. Vines crawled across broken terracotta tiles to curl down and around rotting window frames. Water lapped gently against the sunken walls, ancient doorways shimmering beneath the surface. 

“Sooo, they want to meet us down there?”

Alistair shrugged. “Guess so. Drake must have found something.”

“And how are we supposed to get in there? It’s completely flooded - like it just fell into the ocean.”

He laughed. “Maybe it did. But hey, we’ll find a way in. It looks like there’s some dry ground over there.” He pointed at a section that sat higher than the rest, a ruined courtyard just visible between the sagging buildings. “Easy enough, right?”   
“...sure.”

“Come on, it’ll be fine - just a stroll through a romantic old city.”

Michaela raised an eyebrow. “Romantic, huh?”

Alistair blushed and ran a hand through his hair. “Did I say romantic? I meant deadly, as in snakes, crocodiles, mercenaries and…”   
“Drake?” she grinned. 

“Yes! Drake. Deadliest of them all.” He began making his way down the rocks before them, seeking out handholds on vines and in cracks. “Come on, can’t keep him waiting!”   
Michaela shook her head and clambered after him. “Tell me again why we’re here?”   
“It’s simple really - Drake wants treasure.”

“That’s it? And here I thought we were chasing the story of a lifetime.”   
Alistair laughed. “ _ You _ might be.” He dropped the last few feet to a rotting roof, tiles shifting under him. “Watch it - these look like they could go at any time.”   
“Wonderful.” Michaela grunted and dropped down beside him. She grabbed his arm as the roof groaned. “How safe is this thing?”   
“On a scale of one to Drake? It’s about a Drake and a half.” He nodded his head towards a stone ledge below them. “Think you can get down there?”   
“Guess we’ll find out.” She swung over the edge, gripping the tiles before dropping down. Glancing up as Alistair did the same, she grinned suddenly. “You know, you can take your time.”   
He frowned over his shoulder. “What?”   
“Take your time.”   
“Why?”

“I’m enjoying the view.”   
He dropped down beside her, turning to scan the city before she could see his burning face. Michaela laughed. “Your ears have gone red.”   
“Have not.”

“How would you know?”   
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? We Theirins are blessed with the ability to see our ears, should we ever have need of an embarrassment metre.”

“Ah, an evolutionary marvel!”

“Exactly.” Alistair gestured towards a balcony on the next building. “If we can get to that, we’ll be able to drop down and swim the last few metres to the courtyard.”   
“Didn’t you say snakes and crocodiles?”

“I also said romantic.” He took a few steps back, gauging the distance. “Yeah, we can probably make it.” He leapt across, groaning as he hauled himself up and over the stone railing. 

“Are you okay?” Michaela called.

Alistair waved a hand, getting to his feet. “Maybe you should find another way around - I don’t know if you can make that.”   
She swore, and peered over the edge at the water below. “So...no crocodiles?”

“Haven’t seen any so far - why?”   
“And snakes?”   
“Probably in the jungle more than here.”

Michaela nodded. “Right. Okay.” She leapt off the ledge, Alistair’s shout following her down as she plunged into the freezing water. Muck swirled around her, tiny bits of green rushing past as she opened her eyes. Seaweed clung to the ruined stones, waving gently in the flow. All around her was a city etched in green and brown, water filling ancient doorways and windows. Light filtered through, illuminating the eerie scene before it was all lost in a new rush as something large crashed through the surface. Michaela swept herself backwards, away from the swirl of  murky bubbles and shot for the surface. Gasping, she risked a glance backwards before propelling herself through the water to the courtyard. Behind her, something broke the surface and began following her with powerful strokes. Scrambling onto the broken stones, Michaela pulled out her gun.  

Alistair froze, treading water as his eyes met hers above the barrel of the gun. “Whoa, okay.” He held up a hand. “Not a crocodile, or a snake. Bit offended that you think I look like either but okay.”

Michaela lowered the gun. “Really? I almost shoot you and you come back with  _ that _ ?” 

He swam the last few feet and grabbed the hand she held out. “You didn’t almost shoot me.” 

“Oh really? Cause my finger was on the trigger.”   
“Yeah, but you didn’t pull it.” He smirked at her. “Couldn’t shoot the handsome one, huh?”

“Handsome? I’ll have you know - oof!” He cut her off, pulling her into a tight hug and pressing his lips against her hair. 

“You scared the life out of me,” he murmured. “Don’t ever leap off a ruined building to almost certain death again!”

She snorted and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I scared  _ you _ ? You almost crushed me!”

“It would’ve been an honorable crushing - I thought you were drowning.”

“So you decided to assist me with my death?”

“I was saving you, cheese-brain.”

“I thought you were a crocodile or something!”

“Because I’m big and strong?”

“No, because of you thrashing around in the water.”

“I didn’t thrash!”

“You thrashed.”

“Don’t judge me Miss  _ Couldn’t Pop Back Up to the Surface to Say I’m Okay. _ ”

“That’s a long title.”

Alistair grinned. “Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

“You make up the names.”

“Shh. Don’t let everyone know, or they’ll be asking for favours.”

Michaela chuckled and leaned back to look up at him. “Favours?”

“Yeah, you know, royal decrees, extra cheese on sandwiches - that sort of thing.”

“I didn’t realise you were royalty.”

He laughed. “Only in the eyes of a certain shop owner with an excellent cheese selection.” He gazed down at her, noticing for the first time her long lashes and the crinkles at the corner of her eyes as she laughed, the grey flecks in the blue iris as she gazed back up at him. And winced before rubbing her neck and stepping back.

Michaela smiled ruefully. “You’re very tall.”

“So I’ve been told.” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not about to ask me how the weather is, are you?”

“No, just getting a sore neck from looking up.” 

He immediately hunched down, pulling a face and hobbling along a few feet. “Is this better? I can’t quite do a hunch but…”

She laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Come on, we’d best find the others.” 

Alistair straightened up, rubbing his shoulder. “You know, you might have crippled me for life.”

“Don’t be a baby.”

He saluted and clicked his heels together. “Yes sir! Er, ma’am.” Glancing around the ruined courtyard, his attention was caught by a splash of red against a crumbling wall. “Hey, look at this.” He reached out and gently plucked the flower from the bush, holding it up for Michaela to see.”Do you know what this is?”   
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Your new weapon of choice?”

“Yes! That’s right! Watch as I thrash our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangements!” He waved the flower around. “Feel my thorns, pirates! I will overpower you with my rosy scent!” Michaela shook her head as he grinned down at her.

“Or, you know, it could just be a rose,” he said. “Pretty dull in comparison, I know.”

“Well, sentiment can be a pretty potent weapon.”

“Is it that easy to see right through me?” Alistair ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” He glanced down at the rose, running a thumb over the red petals. “Amazing, right? That, after all this time, something so beautiful can exist in a place almost overrun with despair and ugliness.”

Michaela looked around at the ruined buildings covered with vines and moss, water lapping at the walls. “I know what you mean. Someone planted it, all those years ago, and it’s somehow survived. It’s kind of wonderful.”

Alistair smiled and held it out to her. “Well then, let me give it to you.”

“Me?”   
“Yeah. In a lot of ways, I think the same when I look at you.”

Michaela took it, holding it up to her nose and breathing in the strong perfume. She looked up at him, smirking slightly. “Feeling a little... _ thorny _ , are we?”

He chuckled. “Ohh, wow. ‘She’ll never see through that one’, I told myself. Boy was I wrong.” 

“Thank you, Alistair. It’s a lovely thought.”

“I know this...trip hasn’t exactly been easy for you, and I thought maybe I could say something. Tell you what a rare and wonderful thing you are in amongst all this...darkness.”

She smiled and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you - I...I feel the same way about you.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He clapped his hands together suddenly. “Right, now...if we could move right on past this awkward, embarrassing stage and get right to the steamy bits, I’d appreciate it.”

Michaela quirked an eyebrow and grinned up at him. “Sounds good - off with your kit!”

Alistair laughed nervously. “Okay, bluff called. Damn! She saw right through me.”

“Aww, you’re so cute when you’re bashful.”

“I’ll be…” he cleared his throat and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll be standing over here. Until the blushing stops. Just to be, uh, safe.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You know how it is.”

She laughed. “Okay.” As she turned to lead the way out the courtyard, she threw him an amused look over her shoulder. “Your ears really do go red, you know.”

Alistair coughed. “Just...uggh, let’s just go find the others.”

 

…

 

They surfaced, gasping in air as the jeep sank away. Drake risked a look back up to where Eddy was screaming and firing wildly into the air on the edge of the bridge.

“Go! Go!” he shouted and began to swim towards the half submerged city. They followed his lead, clambering out onto a broken footpath and dodging as Eddy’s goons started to fire from the bridge.

“Oh for God’s sake!” Drake groaned.

Elena laughed shortly. “These guys ever quit!”

They took care of the men on the bridge and began making their way through the drowned city, crumbling buildings flashing by in a blur of orange and white. As they ran into a courtyard, they came across a group of mercenaries, dodging as the men opened fire. Cullen dragged Brianna down behind a broken wall, hissing at her not to get shot and frowning at the deadpan look she gave him. Two men went down as she fired her gun, the others getting picked off by Drake and Elena before Cullen broke the necks of the last two as they tried to vault over the wall. Brianna ran from body to body, picking up extra guns and ammo and distributing them amongst the group. Drake strode over to the other side of the courtyard and opened a gate, nearly jumping out of his skin as a figure appeared round the corner, rifle trained on his face.

“Easy there, man,” Alistair said as he lowered the gun. “Not gonna shoot you.”

“Yet,” Michaela said as she stepped up behind him.

“Funny.” Drake glanced back the way they came. “You know, this was a big mistake.”

Brianna laughed. “No kidding. I should’ve turned before the bridge.” She sat on a fallen pillar and sighed.

Drake put his hands on his hips. “Oh, that’s very funny.”

She glanced up at him, pulling the camera out of its bag. “Shut up and look at this. I wanna show you something.”

“That thing still works?”

“Uh huh.” They all crowded around her. “Check this out.” She played the footage showing the drowned city. “Okay, see this building in the harbour? That’s where all the boats coming into the colony would’ve unloaded their cargo. So if the El Dorado treasure came to this island, it would’ve had to’ve come through here.”

Drake grabbed at the camera. “Wait a minute. What – what was that?”

“What?”

“Rewind it…wait, stop there. Play it again.” He pointed at the screen. “Right there.” His finger rested on a boat sitting in the harbour. “That’s our ticket outta here.” He straightened up. “C’mon.”

Elena stared at him. “Our ticket outta here? Are you giving up?”

Drake glared at her. “Maybe you hadn’t noticed, but we’re kinda outnumbered.”

She shrugged. “We’re doing fine so far.”

“Elena,” he said, “I don’t need your bullet-riddled corpse on my conscience.” He looked at the others. “Let’s go.”

Elena looked at him for a moment before turning away. “Oh please, you quit if you want to, but don’t use me as an excuse.”

“Fine!” Drake shouted. “It’s me, okay? I’m quitting. Are you coming or not?”

She stood up and faced him, hands on hips. “So that’s it? You’re just gonna forget about the treasure, and forget about Drake?”

He pushed his face close to hers. “Goddamn it, this is not worth dying over!”

Elena held up her hands. “Okay. Okay. Listen, either way, we have to head back to the harbour. Don’t worry about it.” She pushed past him, leaving him scowling.

Brianna got to her feet and put her camera securely in its bag. She glanced up at Drake. “You can argue about it later.” She punched his arm lightly. “It’ll be great.” She moved to follow Elena but Drake put his hand on her arm. “Wait…”

She turned back, curious. “Yeah?”

He pointed a finger at her. “This time, I drive.”

Brianna rolled her eyes. “Okay.”

Alistair stepped forward. “Speaking of which, we have a total of three rides.” He led them over to a half-collapsed wharf. Crouching down, he pointed to where three jetskis bobbed in the semi-dark. “Two on each one,” he said. “I figured one guy, one girl on each. They can argue about who drives and who shoots.”

Elena glanced at him. “More shooting, then?”

Alistair nodded. “Oh yeah. They’ve got men stationed everywhere, all the way to the harbour. I figured, on these we’ll be quicker, able to manoeuvre more and take them out a bit easier.” He reached down and pulled on a rope, bringing the jetskis gliding along so they bobbed within reach. “Now it’s just a matter of deciding who goes with who.”

Brianna grinned suddenly. “Dibs Cullen!”

Cullen stared at her. “Did you just… _ dibs _ me?”

“You bet your arse I did.” She sauntered over to stand by him. “Nice one too, by the way.”

His face turned slightly pink. “Umm…”

She smirked up at him. “Drive or shoot?”

“I… uh…shoot, I guess.”

Brianna glanced back at the others. “Right, well we’re sorted.”

Drake rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Fine let’s just get on with this. Elena, you’re with me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

“Got a problem with it?”

“Nah I guess I’m good.”

Alistair turned to Michaela. “Can you drive?”

“Yes.”

They got on the jetskis, Drake and Elena leading the way out of the submerged alley. Elena glanced at the lopsided buildings. “I don’t get it – how does a whole colony just drop out of history?”

Drake shrugged and turned a corner. “Shit. Looks like we got company.”

Elena grabbed his rifle, aiming at the two guards firing from a roof. Drake cheered as first one, then the other crumpled and fell into the water, bobbing against the building’s walls. He gunned the engine and led the group through an arch into a new part of the city. Vines clung to the buildings, lichen crept over the tiled roofs, gentle waves lapping against the broken windows and doors. Trees sprouted from balconies edged in rusted railings and grass wandered down the paths to water.

“What happened to this place?” Elena asked.

Drake glanced back over his shoulder. “Whole city’s completely flooded.”

“Yeah, I got that much.”

Michaela pulled up next to them. “There’s probably more guards up ahead.”

“Yeah,” Drake said. “You guys split off to the left, Cullen and Brianna go to the right.”

Cullen shot Alistair a quick look as Brianna revved and took off. Alistair grinned and simply wrapped an arm round Michaela’s waist as she zoomed under an old porch draped in moss. Drake watched as they shot out the other side, Alistair standing slightly to shoot a mercenary on a balcony ahead of them. On the other side, Cullen aimed carefully at a line of oil drums, exploding them and clearing the way for the jetskis to blast through.

Racing up the river, dodging oil drums and mercenaries alike, the group made their way further into the half-submerged ruins. Passing what most likely would have been homes of those who lived there centuries ago, Elena frowned. “Something bad must have happened here.”

Drake glanced around. “You could say that.”

“Y’know, I read a story once about a cursed Inca treasure,” Elena mused. “You don’t suppose that-”

“Please tell me you don’t believe in that stuff.”

“I’m just saying…a whole colony doesn’t just up and vanish.”

He laughed. “Yeah.”

She punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Well, how do you explain it?”

Drake started to reply, breaking off as they watched first Brianna, then Michaela speed up and race up a roof sticking out the water, jumping through the gap in the buildings. They zoomed across the harbour and pulled up alongside the dock, glancing back as they waited.

Drake revved the engine. “Hold on!”

They managed the jump, water spraying from beneath them as they landed and sped over to the others. Brianna grinned as they climbed onto the dock.

“Well that was fun!”

Cullen flicked a glance at her. “Despite the mercenaries, bullets and drums?”

“I wasn’t meaning that, exactly.” She ran her eyes lingeringly over him. “There was something  _ way _ more enjoyable than speed and near death.”

His brows shot up as she winked and he turned away quickly, busying himself with his rifle. Drake rolled his eyes. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s just get on with finding our way out of here.”

Elena pointed to a cable running between the buildings. “Looks like that cable would get us up and onto the roof. Maybe we could drop down the other side into the harbour?”

Drake nodded. “Worth a shot, at least.”

He led them out along the edge of the buildings, rounding a corner into what must have been the old city square. Old roads and gardens crossed, the houses leaning against each other around the edge of the open area. Drake studied their surroundings, noticing the crates and cigarette butts lying there. He unslung the rifle from his back, loading it quickly. The others did the same and spread out, moving carefully between the ruined blocks as they slowly made their way across the square. Drake ducked as bullets flew over his head, mercenaries running out from one of the buildings. Two appeared on rooftop, taking pot shots as the group tried to dodge.

Alistair grabbed Michaela and shoved her behind a pillar as a grenade rolled past, the red light flashing. Kicking it away, he pressed himself over her, shielding her from the blast. Nodding her thanks, she aimed and fired under his arm as a mercenary ran towards them with a knife, dropping him less than two metres away.

Across the courtyard, Brianna ran out from behind a pillar, dodging as a hail of bullets rained down around her. Drake shouted for her to stop, to get into cover but she ignored him, vaulting over a ruined wall and snatching up a grenade launcher. Crouching behind the wall, she fired over the top, taking out a group as they advanced towards Cullen and Elena. She swung around to the other side, taking out another group, and so on until the ground was littered with bodies. She paused, and when Cullen waved the all clear, she dropped the now empty launcher and sauntered over to join their group.

“Well, now what?” she asked.

Michaela frowned. “Alistair’s hurt.”

“No I’m not.”

“And that’s not blood seeping through your shirt.”

“Well, it’s not that bad.”

Drake twirled his finger. “Turn.”

“Really, it’s not that bad…”

“Turn.”

Alistair sighed and reluctantly turned. His shirt had several rips through it, blood staining them round the edges. Cullen’s brows knitted in a frown.

“Off with the shirt.”

Alistair chuckled grimly. “Hey hey, I’m not that kind of guy.”

“Now.”

As the others nodded, Alistair shrugged and tugged the shirt over his head, wincing as the movement pulled at the wounds. Elena gasped at the sight of the cuts. “God, what the hell happened?!”

He twisted, trying to see. “Ah, got caught in the blast of grenade. Damn thing blew the stones up and the shards got me.”

Michaela shook her head. “Those need to be cleaned.” She squinted at a couple of them. “And some might need stitches.”

Cullen pointed back the way they’d come. “Right, you’re going back to the jetskis. Take the girls with you. One of them can clean you up.”

“But-“

“There’s no buts about it.” Cullen ignored Brianna’s snicker.

Alistair crossed his arms, glaring at Cullen. “We have to get up and over the roof. I’m not going to hold everyone up because of some stupid cuts.”

Cullen met the glare calmly. “You would hold us up more if you got halfway up and found you just couldn’t go any further.”

“Jesus! I’m not as weak as all that! I’ll be fine.”

Cullen turned, his eyes following the cable to a tower across the harbour. “There may be a way to open the gate by the jetskis.” He turned back to Alistair. “Drake and I will find a way up there. You and the girls go back to the jetskis and have them ready to get us out of here quickly.” He levelled a stare at Alistair as he opened his mouth to speak. “There is no arguing on this.”

Alistair’s mouth thinned as he nodded slightly. Satisfied, Cullen glanced at Drake.

Drake held up his hands. “Fine, fine. Let’s just get on with it.”

They made their way up the stairs to their left as the others went back through the square. Drake climbed out a window, testing the ledge before making his way carefully around the edge of the building. Cullen followed, glancing over his shoulder to see Alistair and the girls arrive at the jetskis. Brianna gave him a thumbs up as Michaela and Elena got to work cleaning Alistair’s cuts. Drake jumped to a pillar, balancing precariously before jumping across to another ledge where a rusted lever sat against the wall. He flung a look back at Cullen. “Think this’ll open the gate?”

“Try it and see.”

He hauled on the lever, using his weight to pull it down, groaning as it started to stick. Cullen jumped across, adding his strength and together they managed to push it all the way down. They looked back to see the gate slide slowly open as the others climbed onto the jetskis and zoomed over to below the ledge. Drake dropped down as Elena pulled up, landing lightly on the jetski and taking the controls. Brianna shifted her gaze to Cullen, grinning as she raised an eyebrow and indicated the empty seat behind her. He shook his head and jumped down, barely in his seat before she took off. He grabbed her round the waist, hanging on as she pushed the jetski into a tight turn and sped through the open gate. He tried to reach for his gun as mercenaries appeared on the buildings ahead of them. Brianna felt him shifting around.

“Just hang on!” she yelled.

“They’re shooting at us!”

“Yeah, that’s what people do when they want to kill you.”

He scrabbled for the rifle on his back, swearing as she spun around and shot off towards a closed gate. “Where the hell are you going?!”

She risked a look over her shoulder at his tight face. “Think you can shoot out those stones?” She pointed at the weights above the gate.

He nodded once. “If I get my gun.”

“Well, now’s your chance.”

He pulled the rifle from his back, aiming at first one then the other weight. As they fell into the water, the gate lifted and the group shot through, out of range of the mercenaries for now. As they pulled up alongside a half-submerged pathway, Drake called back to him.

“We have to get to that tower!” He jumped off and pressed himself against the wall. “You okay with coming along?”

Cullen jumped off, ignoring the flirtatious look Brianna flung him. “It’s my job isn’t it?”

Alistair reloaded his rifle. “We’ll meet you back at the customs house.”

At Drake’s nod, they sped off on the jetskis, Alistair holding the rifle at the ready. Drake grinned at Cullen. “Ready to risk your life again?”

“Do I have any choice?”

“Nope.”

They ducked around the corner and started firing at the mercenaries stationed on guard. The sound brought more running in, grenades being hurled under the covering fire. Drake dropped and rolled to press against a half-wall, firing shots occasionally as men ran between cover. Cullen went from pillar to pillar, making his way around the area and taking out men as he came to them. When the last of them lay dead, Drake signalled for Cullen to follow him down an alleyway and through a doorway into the base of the tower. Drake gazed up at the walls, tracing a path to the top. Spotting a lever nestled against the wall, he moved to pull it. With a groan of protest, a beam swung out from the wall, a chain rattling from it. He grinned at Cullen and began hauling himself up, swiftly reaching the rickety floor above them. Cullen joined him and watched impassively as Drake pulled another lever, moving the rope around. They ran up some crumbling stairs and leapt, one after the other and hauled themselves further up until they reached the top of the tower. Drake punched Cullen’s arm lightly, earning a blank stare, as he walked towards the cable stretching across the harbour.  Testing his weight on it, he hooked his gun over and slid. Cullen followed, dropping and rolling into the ruined customs building. He glanced around the room, his hand tightening on the gun when a series of thuds sounded on the door. He relaxed as Alistair’s voice came through.

“Hey, let us in!”

Drake tested the doors, stepping back and aiming. “Stand back!” He shot the lock out and kicked the doors open, revealing the others waiting outside.

Alistair gave him an appraising look. “Gotta have flair when you do that kind of thing, dude.”

“I’ve got flair.”

“Sure.”

Cullen jerked his head. “If we could just move on?”

“Right,” Drake said. “Let’s find a way to the harbour, and hope the boat’s still there.”


	11. The Customs House

They made their way carefully through the customs house, Drake leading the way whilst Cullen stayed at the rear. The streets were quiet, with no sign of the mercenaries as they reached an old abandoned library. Brianna pulled out her camera as they walked through the door. Flicking it on, she panned around the room. Dusty shelves lined with rotting books loomed above them, light filtering through several holes in the roof. Dust motes swam through the air, gilded in by the afternoon sun.

“Wow…” Drake moved to pull a book from the shelves. “These must be all the old ship manifests.” He flicked through, blowing the dust from its pages. “Still seem to be in good shape.” Putting it back on the shelf, he wandered over to look at an open book on a table behind him. “Hey, check this out.” He ran a finger down the list of ships. “This looks right. The  _ Esperanza _ . Sailed from Callao, Peru. Carrying eight hundred bars of gold, twelve hundred silver. Emeralds…golden masks, ornaments…” he trailed off as Elena moved to stand by him, her eyes tracing the words.

“Whoa, reading 16 th century Spanish. “ She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “Not just a grave robber after all, huh?”

Drake chuckled. “Right.” He flicked through the book. “Look. Gold statue, weight: twenty arrobas.”

Alistair looked over from the doorway. “That’s over five hundred pounds.”

“You know how to convert 16 th century Spanish to pounds?” Michaela asked.

He shrugged. “History buff. I like to find out random facts. Usually useless but occasionally they come in handy.”

Drake gripped the book. “This has gotta be it.” He turned the page to a picture of El Dorado. “Wow…there we go.”

Elena peered at the intricate sketch, the faces carved into the statue almost grimacing in pain. “That thing kinda gives me the creeps.”

He flipped through the pages again but the rest of the book was empty. “Huh, that was the last entry…” he reached up, unknowingly playing with the ring around his neck.

Elena eyed it for a moment, smiling as she asked, “That somebody special?”

Drake frowned. “What?”

She nodded to the ring.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I guess you could say that.”

“Huh.” She stepped back slightly. “I had you pegged as more of a woman-in-every-port kind of guy.”

Drake laughed. “Don’t I wish.” He picked at the ring again, holding it for her to see. “No, this was, ah…this was Francis Drake’s ring. I, y’know, kind of inherited it.”

She picked it up gently, reading the inscription on the outside. “’ _ Sic Parvis Magna’ _ ?”

“’ _ Greatness from small beginnings’ _ – it was his motto.” Drake nodded at the ring. “Check out the date.”

“29 th of January, 1596.”

Michaela frowned. “One day after he supposedly died.”

Elena pointed at the ring. “Wait, what are these numbers, right here?”

“Co-ordinates,” Drake grinned. “Right off the coast of Panama.”

“Oh, so  _ that’s _ how you found the coffin.”

“Yup. You see, Drake left this,” he held up the ring again, “as a clue to pinpoint the exact burial site.”

“For someone clever enough to figure it out,” Elena said.

Drake laughed, holding the ring out of her reach once more. “Yeah, nice try.” He tucked the ring back in his shirt. “But we’re still going for that boat.” He ripped the picture of El Dorado out of the book and turned to hold it up to Brianna’s camera. “I’m afraid this is as close as we’re getting to El Dorado.”

They began to follow Drake up a staircase to the right when he suddenly halted and held up a hand. As they exchanged confused looks, Drake pointed to the top of the stairs. There they could see two mercenaries pacing in front of an archway. Two gun shots fired and the guards dropped. They all spun to look at Elena who was still holding her pistol ready. Shouts sounded from the next room and grenades flew down the stairs. Frantically, everyone ran up the stairs to get out of reach of the blasts, ducking behind anything to avoid the onslaught of bullets.

“What the fuck, Elena!” Brianna shouted.

“I’m sorry, I just panicked.”

Alistair glanced over. “Apparently,  _ stay quiet _ means something different in America.”

“Okay, I made mistake!” Elena yelled. “No need to fucking crucify me!”

Cullen levelled a look at her. “Your mistake may just get us killed.” He fired in quick succession, taking out the mercenaries as they came running through the doorway. As he paused to reload, another came running in, grenade in his hand. Alistair sighted and fired before the man could throw it, hitting the grenade through a stroke of luck. Elena gagged as a hand flew past her. Drake waited a moment before running up the stairs, leaping over the bodies. He checked the room before waving the others up.

“Come on, I think that’s the last of them.”

They followed him as he ran up another flight of stairs and began winding a winch to open the gate at the top. As they went through it, they came out onto a balcony overlooking the harbour. Elena looked over the side.

“Well, I don’t see any boat.” She glanced at Drake. “Looks like we missed our chance.”

Drake looked to the right and pointed. “Nope, there it is. On the other side of the harbour.” He turned to leave. “Come on.”

Elena grabbed his arm. “Hey, you know what? Why don’t I just wait here, and you can, uh…” she glanced at the ruin spreading along the coast, “…swing around and come back and pick me up.”

Drake laughed and crossed his arms. “Ok, what are you up to?”

“Nothing. I just wanna, you know, stay here. I figured Brianna and I could get some more footage.” She gave Alistair a sideways glance. “Besides, he can’t climb anywhere. If we wait here, we’ll be safe enough with him.”

Drake looked to Alistair, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged slightly. He sighed. “All right – fine.” He put his hands on his hips. “But promise me you’ll stay put.”

Elena nodded eagerly and held up a hand. Behind her back, Brianna flicked a glance at Michaela who rolled her eyes.

Drake shook his head. “Whatever that means.” He turned and shot out the lock on an ornate door, kicking it open and jumping across to another balcony. Cullen followed him, rifle slung on his back. As he landed, the balcony gave way, sliding downwards. As it hit the next balcony along, the two men jumped, grasping the edge of the stonework and hauling themselves up.


	12. Trapped

The noise attracted the attention of a couple of guards, but before they could so much as shout, Cullen had his gun up. The two men fell into the roiling sea below, disappearing beneath the waves. Drake flicked Cullen an appreciative look and shot out another pair of doors. He jumped across to haul on a winch, opening a portcullis into an extremely ornate and gilded ballroom. As they went through, the sound of a helicopter beat on the walls, the machine lumbering past the open section of the roof.

“Who’s this, now?” Drake mused.

Cullen eyed the helicopter. “That belong to your friend?”

“Nah, Eddy’s into much gaudier stuff.”

They moved further into the room and froze as a guard stepped out from behind a piece of the collapsed roof. Drake made to swing his rifle up but Cullen’s hand on his arm stopped him. Following his gaze, Drake watched as armed men appeared all over the room. He cut his eyes to Cullen.

“Shoot and move,” Cullen murmured. “Go!”

They split, rolling away as gunfire echoed around them. Ducking behind whatever he could, Drake fired, taking out as many guards as he could. One screamed as his kneecap exploded, another dropped soundlessly as Cullen put a bullet in his brain. Several had grenades, lobbing them into the chaos without any particular aim, not seeming to care if they hit their own comrades. Drake watched as Cullen paused for a moment, a grenade rolling to his feet. In one fluid movement, he’d picked it up and hurled it back at the mercenary, who cried out before being blasted into nothing. One came at Drake from behind, and he snapped his rifle butt up into his throat, snapping the man’s neck as he bent double.

It lasted only a few minutes, but as the sound of gunfire faded away and the smoke from grenades cleared, it was obvious the ambush had failed. Cullen jerked his head, and Drake spotted the winch on the far side. Running quickly up the stairs, he opened the gate, holding the winch long enough for Cullen to duck under and hold the bars up from the other side.

As it thudded down, they jumped from the broken stairs into the entrance hall, a giant arch opening out into the bay. Bobbing alongside was the boat.

They cautiously made their way towards it, Cullen pulling Drake down as voices came from along the quayside. Edging along, they pressed against the low wall and watched as three men loaded the boat.

A hand reached out and grabbed Drake’s shoulder.

“Hey.” At his startled noise, Elena held a finger to her lips.

“How did you get here?” Cullen asked. “And where are the others?”

“Back there.” She held up Brianna’s video camera. “You really need to see this.”

Drake frowned at her and twisted to look back at the boat. “Now is really not the best time.”

He started to stand but she pulled him down. “No, Nate-”

He shrugged her off. “What are you doing?!” He glanced back over the wall.

Elena pulled him down again. “You really need to watch this.”

He made an exasperated noise and took the camera from her. Cullen shook his head and moved to see the footage. As they watched, the screen showed Navarro waiting in a helicopter. Gabriel strode across the screen, an older man in a green shirt beside him.

“Aaaand…Hello.” Elena pointed as Navarro held out his hand to help the man into the helicopter. Drake’s face turned white as he recognised Sully.

Elena watched him carefully. “He’s alive.”

“Huh.”

Cullen frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know, Drake…I mean, how much do you trust this guy?” He pointed at the image paused on the screen. “It’s not exactly like they’re holding him at gunpoint.”

“I know.” Drake stared down at Sully’s face. “Yeah, it seems weird.” He handed the video camera back to Elena and peered around the low wall. The boat sailed away across the harbour. Behind him Cullen huffed and slung the rifle onto his back. There was a scrape on the rock behind them. Drake turned as Alistair and the other two girls came into view.

“Sorry, Drake,” Alistair said. “She took off just after you left.”

Drake waved away the apology and pulled out the map. He spread it on a nearby slab. “No, Sully’s a lot of things, but he’s not a backstabber.”

Brianna crossed her arms. “Sure, because every prisoner is on buddy-buddy terms with their kidnappers.”

Drake ignored her. “Did you see which way they were headed?”

“Uh…north-ish.” Elena pointed on the map. “Yeah, towards the mountains.”

“Okay, it’s gotta be the monastery.” He folded the map up and put it back in his pocket. “Let’s go.”

Alistair raised an eyebrow. “And what if it turns out he’s working with them?”

Drake spun around. “We either rescue him or we beat the crap out of him.” He flung his hands up. “Hell, I might just beat the crap out of him anyway!”

And with that, he turned and strode away. Alistair exchanged glances with Cullen and unslung his rifle. As they made to follow Drake, Michaela grabbed his arm gently.

“Alistair, what about your back?”

He rolled his shoulders. “Should be okay.”

“But-“

“Look, I’ve kinda got no choice. We have to go with him. It’s what we were hired to do. And honestly? I like the guy. Don’t want to see him die because his friend’s working for the enemy.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You think Sully’s working with them?”

Alistair sighed heavily. “I…don’t know. It looks that way, but…I don’t know him like Drake does.” He glanced over to where Drake was scanning the harbour. “Unless Sully proves otherwise, I’m willing to take Nate’s word for it that he’s not a turncoat.”

“Okay. But promise me you’ll take it easy?”

He laughed suddenly. “Really? By now, you should know that, with Drake, things are  _ never _ easy.”

“Promise.”

Alistair glanced away as the others moved off through another doorway. Michaela still held his arm, bottom lip caught between her teeth as her eyes fixed on his face. He sighed and nodded, smiling down at her. “Alright, I promise.” He jokingly pointed a finger at her. “But you’ll have to cover me.”

She grinned. “Deal.”

They followed the others into the remains of another grand hall, sweeping staircases crumbling on either side. Drake shouted and ducked behind a pillar as shots flew past him. Armed men ran in, firing at the group. Alistair shoved Michaela behind him, ignoring the pain in his back as he fired. She scowled at him, pulling her own gun and firing, taking out a couple of guards. Beside them, Brianna flung away her empty rifle and snatched one of Cullen’s pistols from his belt, swinging it up to hit a man in the nose, snapping his head back. As he clutched blindly at it, she shot him calmly in the head and turned to fire into the fray once more. Cullen shot her an impressed look.

“Nice.”

She shrugged. “It’s them or us, right?”

“Right. Remember that.”

“Never forgot it.”

At last it was done and Drake led them on once more. Up the ruined staircase to the right and through the door, he held up a hand as a rickety rope bridge came into view. Alistair eyed it appraisingly. “That…doesn’t look safe at all.”

Drake grinned. “Ah, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“It took a hike around about the eighth time people tried to kill us. In less than ten minutes.”

“Ah, the joys of being popular…” And with that, Drake started moving carefully across the bridge, motioning for Elena to follow him. As they walked, Elena switched the camera on and began to film. Below them, the sea tossed and churned, dashing itself against the wicked rocks.

“What happened here?” Elena asked.

Drake pointed to some scorch marks on the ruins. “See those?”

“Uh huh.”

“Somebody packed this place with enough gunpowder to blow it wide open.”

“Huh,” Alistair mused. “What made them decide to-”

The bridge began to creak and groan. Drake tested the boards with his foot.

“Whoa – watch where you step,” he called over his shoulder. “Some of these boards are really falling apart.”

Elena ignored him, zooming in on the scorch marks to their left. As she did, she put her weight in the middle of a board, snapping it. Before she could move, several boards dropped away and she fell through. Drake spun, grabbing her hand as she fell. On the other side of the gap, Cullen slung his rifle onto his back and dropped to lie along the boards, reaching for her.

“Elena, I can’t hold on!” Drake shouted. He nodded at the camera. “Give me your other hand!”

“I can’t!”

“You’ve got to let it go!”

She hesitated before dropping the camera into the sea. “Damn it!”

Drake grabbed her other hand and hauled her back onto the bridge. She lay on the boards, gasping as her heart pounded. “Oh, shit.” She stared down at the waves.

He patted her back. “It’s okay. C’mon…c’mon.” He helped her get to her feet, shaking his head at Brianna as she glared.

As Drake led Elena across the bridge, Cullen turned to glance at Brianna as she stood behind him, white knuckles gripping the ropes. She met his stare defiantly.

“What?”

“You seem…angry.”

“Well, no shit! That was my career she dropped into the fucking sea!”

“You can get another camera.”

“But not footage like that!”

He levelled a stare at her. “Would you rather she fell?”

Brianna narrowed her eyes. “She wouldn’t have fallen if she just looked where she was going.”

He watched her face for a moment, noting the grey flecks in her blue eyes as they blazed at him.

“There’s more to this.”

She glared up at him. “No, not at all. She just snatched my camera from me, took off from where we were supposed to wait for you and Drake, forcing Alistair to go after her – meaning, by the way, that he had to climb along the edge of the building which made the cuts on his back bleed again – stopped Drake from getting our ride out of here so she could show him his two-timing, backstabbing friend, just so she could convince him to stay and go after a treasure that seems to have a gigantic fucking tragedy surrounding it-” she paused for breath. “Then, after she’s done all that, she  _ doesn’t  _ give my camera back, instead deciding to film the  _ fucking ocean _ as she goes across a rickety bridge, ignoring Drake when he told her to watch her step, falls  _ through _ the bridge and ends up dropping  _ my _ camera – which I had saved for  _ years  _ to get, since I was in high school – into the goddamn ocean!” She crossed her arms. “But no, Cullen. I’m not pissed off at all.”

As he stared at her, she shoved past him, jumping across the hole in the bridge and striding to catch up with the others. Alistair raised an eyebrow.

“Think Elena’s dead?”

Cullen shook his head, still watching Brianna. “I think it might be fifty-fifty.” He looked back at the other two. “Maybe keep an eye on where she’s pointing her gun.”

As they reached the other side, Elena shot Brianna a guilty look. Brianna crossed her arms and ignored her, instead watching as Drake moved down a staircase and jumped through a window. He glanced around, taking in the silent jungle, before waving them down. Brianna moved first, Cullen shaking his head again and following her. Elena dropped back to walk with Michaela.

“Okay, how bad is it?”

Michaela gave her a sideways look. “On a scale of one to ten?”

“Yeah.”

“At least a hundred and seventy five.”

“That’s…specific.”

“She’s pissed.” Michaela shrugged. “Might want to steer clear of her for the next decade or so.”

“It was just a camera.”

Michaela stopped and stared at her. “Did you hear any of that rage she had at Cullen?”

“She raged at  _ Cullen _ ?”

Alistair interjected. “You seriously didn’t hear any of it?”

Elena looked from one to the other. “That bad?”

“Well, if by ‘bad’ you mean ‘you’re now apparently entirely to blame for the current state of affairs…” he said.

Elena ran a hand through her hair. She looked back at Michaela. “But…wait…it  _ was _ just a camera, right?”

“Her first professional video camera – one she’d saved for since she was sixteen.”

“Oh God…”

Alistair pointed up ahead as Brianna and Cullen jumped through the window. “Yeah, I’d stay behind Drake when it comes to the next shootout if I were you.”

Elena shook her head. “And her other camera…shit, that was in the plane. Maybe we can-”

“I doubt it made it through the crash,” Alistair said. “But come on, the others are waiting.”

They dropped down to the others, landing in the cool shadows of the jungle. On either side, moss covered rocks stretched up, plants sprouting from the crevices. Drake pointed to a tunnel on the right.

“That way.”

Brianna rolled her eyes as they all followed him into the damp. Moisture gleamed on walls slick with moss and slime, and mud sucked at their boots as they tried to walk without sliding. Michaela grabbed Alistair’s arm at one point, narrowly avoiding slipping over.

“You okay?” he grinned at her.

“Yeah…thanks.”

As they neared the end, the tunnel opened out into a large cave, rustic stonework shoring up its sides. Ahead of them, a guard smoked a cigarette, his back turned to them. Cullen put a hand on Drake’s arm, putting a finger to his lips. Moving slowly forward, the others watched as he came up behind the man, grabbing him with a hand either side of his head, snapping his neck before he could make a sound. Moving swiftly up the stairs, he caught the next one just as he noticed his dead comrade, covering his mouth with his hand before he could shout. A quick rap on his skull had the man’s eyes rolling back and he dropped without a sound. Cullen let him go, waving the others up the stairs.

He took the lead as they moved through the ruins, pacing them so they didn’t run headlong into a group of armed men. The caves eventually opened out onto a riverside dock, the water flowing madly past. Three guards strolled around, one kicking at the stones. Michaela had to stifle a giggle as she watched one pull out his gun and begin practising with it, swinging it around, dodging and rolling, pretending to fire at imaginary enemies. His comrades laughed at him, jeering when a roll sent him crashing into a pillar.

Cullen held up a hand, pointing first to Alistair, then to Drake, indicating that they were to each take one out. They nodded and split off, moving carefully behind the piles of rubble. Alistair came up behind his one, shoving the heel of his hand into the man’s nose and cutting off his startled cry with a swift bullet between the eyes. Drake shoved his gun under the throat of his man, pulling the trigger before he could shout, just as Cullen broke the neck of the last one.

When all three lay dead, Drake nodded towards the river. “This ought to take us right up to the monastery.” He pointed at the jetskis. “Luckily, these guys all decided to bring their own ride, so there’s enough room for all of us.” He looked between them all. “Same pairs as last time. Go.”

They nodded and climbed onto the jetskis, revving the engines and speeding off upstream. Fighting the current, they pushed the machines to their limits as they manoeuvred around boulders and pillars.

“Look out!” Elena shouted, pointing as mercenaries came into view, grinning and aiming guns at them. Several rolled drums of oil into the river, right into the path of the jetskis. Drake swerved around one, and risked a look at the rest of his group.

“Take out the barrels!” he yelled. They nodded and began to fire, managing to blow several up and clear the path. They travelled further up the river, still swerving to avoid the barrels they couldn’t take out and battling the current as it got stronger. Armed men stood at several points, firing from ledges above or standing on the slippery rocks below. Drake swore as a series of rapids came into view and revved the engine to the max. The jetski hopped and roared, bouncing its way off the rocks and up the rapids. Elena glanced back as they made it over the top, watching as the others followed their lead. They zoomed into an open area, mercenaries firing at them from all sides. Elena saw one drop and glanced back to see Cullen turn and take out another. Alistair aimed and fired as another tried to drop more barrels in the river, hitting a drum and blowing the lot sky high. The group kept going, zooming through another tunnel and heaving a sigh of relief as the old monastery came into view. Pulling up alongside the dock, Drake shot everyone a shaky grin.

“Alright?”

A round of “yes” came back at him and everyone climbed off, staring up at the old building. Drake put his hands on his hips.

“Okay, let’s head on in and see what’s going on.”


	13. Sanctuary?

They headed up the old dock’s stone steps, easing their way through the broken walls looming on either side. Rounding a corner, they reached an old wooden gate, the lock hanging loosely from it. Drake grinned slightly and kicked it open before the others could stop him.

A volley of bullets flew towards them as three men came into view, ducking in and out behind rocks. Alistair swore as he and Cullen swiftly took them out before whirling to glare at the sheepish Drake.

“Mind checking next time?”

“Sorry.” Drake held up a hand. “In my defence, we couldn’t see through the gate.”

Cullen glanced at him. “You could’ve looked through the holes first.”

“Fine, fine. Point taken.”

They moved on, grabbing spare ammo from the dead mercenaries, running swiftly across a stone bridge and up to a rusted metal gate. Drake looked at the others before pointedly peering through the bars. Alistair stifled a laugh as Drake shoved the gate open and led them through and up a ruined staircase. Elena shoved past him and ran up the stairs.

“Would you slow down?” Drake called. “One of Eddy’s goons could be up ahead!”

Elena laughed as they caught up with her. “Come on, we left those clowns in the dust ages agoooooOHMYGOD!!” She gagged at the guard impaled on spikes just in front of her. “That’s disgusting!” She moved around to get a closer look at him. “Oh, I wish we had a camera…” She trailed off and flung a guilty look at Brianna as her hands clenched into fists. Cullen grabbed her just as she took a step towards Elena, who stumbled back and ducked behind Drake.

“Let me go!”

Cullen tightened his arms as he wrapped them round her shoulders, lifting her slightly so her feet swung off the ground. “No.”

“She lost my camera! She’s –“

Elena peeked out from behind Drake. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I’ll buy you a new one, I promise!”

Cullen grunted suddenly as Brianna jabbed an elbow into his side, hunching over so her feet touched the ground again. She twisted, trying to free herself from his grip. His arms tightened again as he caught his breath. Michaela stepped in front of Brianna.

“Enough! For God’s sake, you lost a  _ camera _ not your arm. Stop acting like a toddler having a tantrum and let’s just get moving.”

“You don’t fucking understand!” Brianna snarled.

“Wanna bet? I get it – that was your first camera, you’d saved for ages to get it and now it’s gone. Sentimentally, it’s a big loss but in terms of your career? You can buy another camera.”

“It’s not just that! If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t even  _ be _ here right now. We would be on a boat back home, away from these lunatics and their fucking treasure.”

“Fair point. But we’re not on the boat and we have to deal with the fucking lunatics if we want to get out of here.”

“But-”

“ENOUGH!” Michaela shouted. “Enough, Brianna. Just accept the fucking situation!”

Brianna glared at her before gritting her teeth and nodding grimly. Cullen slowly set her down and let her go, watching her carefully in case she tried to get Elena. Brianna bent to pick up her gun from where it had fallen to the ground before moving to stand away from the group, glaring back the way they’d come. As they watched, her hand clenched and she threw a punch at the nearest tree, not caring as her knuckles turned red. Cullen glanced at Michaela.

“Uh…I’ll go…stand with her.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Keep an eye on her…just in case.”

Michaela nodded and he walked over to Brianna, putting a hand on her arm. She shrugged him off. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Like you didn’t need to punch that tree?”   
“It was the tree or Elena - take your pick.”

“Maybe the tree had it coming.”

Despite herself, Brianna chuckled slightly. “Who knew you had a sense of humour?”

“It hasn’t really had a chance to come out.” Cullen glanced down at her. “I didn’t come over to be your guard. I just...wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“Really?”

He smiled. “Believe it or not.”

Brianna huffed and leaned against him slightly. He let her, his eyes scanning the jungle for any signs of danger.

Alistair watched them for a moment before turning back to the dead guard. “So…what? The Spanish booby-trapped the island to protect their gold?”

Michaela shook her head. “This wasn’t made by the Spanish. Take a closer look.”

They all leaned in, peering at the spikes.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Elena said.

Drake rapped a knuckle against a sheet of red and white metal. “This is from our plane.”

“Wait,” Elena said. “That doesn’t make any sense, though. Why would someone set traps like this when their own men are crawling all over the island?”

“They wouldn’t.” Alistair knelt to the ground and pointed at a claw-like footprint in the mud. “Something’s been here since the trap was sprung.”

Michaela glanced around. “Something or someone?”

Alistair shushed her. “D’you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Elena asked.

He scanned the clearing for a moment. “Nothing…absolutely nothing.” He glanced at the others before standing and pulling his gun out. “We’re being watched.”

“Watched?” Michaela shivered and moved closer to him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” He looked down at her before beckoning to Cullen and Brianna. “You know what – it’s probably nothing. Um, let’s just get out of here before we run into whatever’s been chewing on this guy.”

Alistair led them out of the clearing and up some more crumbling steps, taking out a couple of guards at the top. Rounding a corner into a ruined courtyard, he grabbed Michaela and ducked behind a pillar as more armed men came into view and began to fire. Red beams flitted around the space.

“Keep your heads down!” Alistair shouted. “These guys have laser sights!”

Cullen swore and began to fire, picking off a couple of mercenaries as they rounded the corner. Brianna clicked ammo into the magazine of her gun and swung it up, aiming at the nearest man. A pull of the trigger and he slumped as she moved on to the next one, leaving him with a single shot in his head. She fired quickly, taking out most of the left side, her face grim as she aimed and killed.

As the last shot resounded, Cullen eyed Brianna, watching as she silently reloaded her gun.

“Are you okay?”

She glanced at him before shoving the pistol back in her belt. “Fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Brianna shrugged. “Just killing lunatics” She poked one with her foot. “It’s surprisingly therapeutic.”

“Don’t go too far with it.”

They moved to stand with the others in the middle of the courtyard. Drake hitched a thumb over his shoulder.

“Roman and Navarro can’t be far off, if they’ve left their attack dogs at the gate.”

Alistair nodded. “Have we got enough ammo to deal with them?”

Drake shrugged. “Man, I hope so.”

They followed him as he led the way up some more stairs, clambering over the roots and shrubs pushing their way through the broken stone. As they reached the top, the monastery came into view, still standing tall despite the vines and moss clinging to its decrepit walls. Cullen waved a hand, signalling for the others to duck behind some pillars as two guards strolled into view. As they watched, one of them pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

“Go ahead.”

“ _ I want the library secure.” _ Roman’s voice crackled through. “ _ Don’t let them get to Sullivan.” _

“Yes sir.” The guard clicked the walkie-talkie off and turned to his companion. “They’ve got the old man working on the east side of the complex. I don’t even know why they brought him along. That sonofabitch can’t be trusted.”

Cullen motioned to Alistair, indicating the second guard. Alistair nodded and slowly raised his rifle. On Cullen’s signal, they both fired, taking out the two men. They waited a moment before running swiftly up the steps to the old gateway and into the monastery courtyard. On all sides, the building rose high above them, ornate grandeur softened by the vines and plants clinging to the carvings. Crumbling rocks lay heaped across the stone floor, moss crawling over their weathered faces. In the middle sat a huge fountain, its tiers now home to countless plants as they claimed it for their own. Elena glanced around, brows knitted in a frown. “Nate, I’ve got a bad feeling about this place.”

Drake took her hand. “I know, me too. Let’s just find Sullivan and get the hell out of here.”

The group moved quietly across the courtyard, ducking through an arch to find a solid wooden door blocking their way. Drake looked around before moving away to haul himself up a pillar.

“What are you doing?” Elena asked.

“Just…uh…seeing where this leads,” he replied. “If we need to, we could probably climb through that window up there.”

They all looked up to where he’d pointed, at the window far above them on a wide ledge.

“Seriously, Drake?” Michaela asked.

He ignored her and continued climbing, disappearing from sight as he leapt from the pillar and scrambled over the ledge. They heard him thud down on the other side before a muffled “Get back!” came through. As they stepped back, an explosion sounded and the door blew off, the charred remains hanging splintered from the hinges.

“Nice job!” Elena said as Drake appeared grinning through the smoke.

He led them through the old corridor, reaching a door with a lever beside it. Drake began to turn it, raising the door several feet, but as soon as he let go, it thudded back down.

“Here, you hold that,” Alistair said, “And I’ll brace the gate open long enough for you lot to get through.”

Cullen threw him a sideways look. “With your back like that?”

Alistair shrugged. “It’ll be fine.”

“Sure.” Cullen moved to stand with him beside the door as Drake hauled on the lever again. He held it there as the other two men ducked under the heavy wood, setting their shoulders against it.

“You ready?” Drake asked.

“Okay,” Alistair said. “Let it go…gently!” He grunted as the wood thudded onto his shoulder. “Ahhh, I said gently!”

The others ducked under the door and into the next room. As Elena crossed in, Cullen nodded for Alistair to let the door go, taking the strain on his shoulders long enough for him to get out from under it. Once Alistair was clear, Cullen let go, rolling away as the door slammed down. Dusting himself off, he unslung his rifle once more and followed the others down the corridors until final they reached the library.

“This must be it!” Elena said.

Drake placed his hands on his hips as he gazed up at it. “Well, we’re not gonna waltz right in the front door.” He began to move around to the left. “Let’s find another way in – scope things out.”

He edged round the building slowly, checking for ledges or windows that might lead in. He grinned as he spotted a hole in the wall. “Bingo!”

Cullen put a finger to his lips and frowned, pointing at the light spilling from the hole. Drake rolled his eyes and nodded, motioning for the others to follow. As they entered the library, he suddenly put out a hand to halt them all as Sully’s voice floated up.

“She worked in this little bar in the Philippines…Oh man, she had a smile that’d melt your heart.”

They edged forward, watching as Sully crossed the room to a table covered in books and papers, a mercenary close behind him. Another sat in a chair beside the table.

“But oh, I swear to God, she’d just as soon kill you as kiss you, if she caught you stepping out.” Sully chuckled and gestured with his cigar to the mercenary sitting opposite him. “Just a wee bit of a thing. She couldn’t have been much more than four-eleven. They called her ‘the spinner’ because she-”

The man moved impatiently. “Will you shut up, old man? You told us this one a dozen times already.”

“Oh yeah, right. ‘Course I did.” Sully bent to the table once more. “Memory’s not what it used to be.”

“What the hell is taking you so long, anyway?”

Sully straightened and turned to glare at him. “Well, maybe you hadn’t noticed, but most of these books are half-rotten.” He gestured at the pile of books. “And written in Spanish.”

“Yeah well, hurry it up. The boss is waiting on you.”

The second man stood behind Sully, clearly bored with the conversation. He turned to stretch and spotted Drake and the others peering down from the ledge above them. “Hey! Up there!”

Drake swore as the mercenaries began to fire. 

Brianna glanced at him as she pulled out her gun. “This better be worth it!” She took aim and fired, felling the one who’d been sitting down. 

Alistair shot the other one, swearing as more came running in. Soon the group was ducking and diving to avoid the bullets flying everywhere, firing some shots of their own into the midst and eventually taking the mercenaries out. Drake made his way over to where Sully crouched behind the table.

Sully got to his feet. “Ah, man. It’s about time you showed up.”

Drake crossed his arms. “Well, you’re looking awfully good for a corpse.”

“So, you brought the girls after all, huh?” Sully dusted himself off.

Michaela raised an eyebrow. “’The girls?’”

“Hey,” Drake held up a hand. “If it wasn’t for Elena, you wouldn’t be getting rescued right now.”

“If this  _ is _ a rescue,” Brianna said.

Sully glared. “What the hell does that mean?”

Drake shrugged. “You gotta admit, Sully, this all looks a little shady.” He glanced at the others as they nodded. “I mean you tipping those guys off.”

“And miraculously showing up alive,” Alistair interjected.

“Now wait a goddamn minute,” Sully said. “Roman had a contract out on me. I needed to buy some time.” He paused as Drake raised an eyebrow. “All right, stupid mistake. I didn’t realise they’d try and track us.”

Drake groaned. “Sully, we would have been headed home with the treasure by now if you had just, for once, kept your mouth shut!”

Sully slammed his palms on the table. “And you might’ve thought of checking for a pulse before running off and leaving me for dead!” He pushed off the table and crossed his arms. “Look, none of that matters now.”

Alistair stepped between them. “Alright, so how is it you’re standing here breathing and all, huh?”

Sully chuckled. “You’re not gonna believe this.” He picked up Sir Francis Drake’s journal from the table and held it up so they could all see the bullet hole in the middle.

Drake laughed. “No way… Ol’ Francis took a bullet for you?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought this kinda thing only happened in the movies.” Drake handed the diary to Elena.

“Yeah, well,” Sully put his cigar back in his mouth “it still hurt like a sonofabitch, I’ll tell you that.”

They all laughed as Elena passed the diary around the group.

“Anyway,” Sully continued, “once they realised I wasn’t dead, I convinced Roman that they’d never find the treasure without me. So I’ve been trying to mislead them ever since, waiting for you to show up.”

Cullen handed the diary back to Sully. “Where are they now?”

“Well, they’re chasing a little red herring I sent ‘em on, on the other side of the monastery.” He opened the diary and pointed at the sketches and writings. “Look, Drake had it all figured out. See, there’s the symbol the Spanish used to mark their secret vaults.” He tapped the sketch of a heart with two keys crossed through it. “The treasure is hidden right here in this monastery. Find the symbol….”

“…and we find the vault!” Drake finished the sentence with him.

Sully grinned. “We have everything we need right here. All the clues take us right to the treasure.” He put a hand on Drake’s shoulder. “We can do this, kid.”

Elena stepped between the two men and put an arm around each of them. “All right, you boys aren’t gonna get all chummy and leave the girls behind again, are you?”

Sully glanced down at her before looking back at Drake, who laughed. “Don’t even think about it, Sully. She’s got a mean right hook.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sully bent to look at the diary once more, opening it on the table where they all could see. “There’s more to this room than meets the eye, I’m sure of it.”

Drake scanned the sketches before looking up at four statues sitting on top of four separate bookcases in the middle of the library. “Hmmm, something about these statues…”

He climbed one of the bookshelves, edging along the top until he was able to stand behind one of the statues. He pulled on it experimentally, feeling it rotate slightly. He glanced down at the others. “Okay, which way does this face in the diary?”

Michaela glanced at the sketch of the lion with wings. “West.”

Drake hauled on the statue, inching it around to the west. He leapt across to the next bookshelf, finding himself face to face with a winged cow. “And this one?”

“South.”

He repeated his actions, locking in the statue when it faced south. The next two, an angel and an eagle, he locked in facing north and east. “Bingo!” A secret door slid open, revealing a staircase. Drake jumped back down to the others and pulled out a torch before leading the way down. Sully made a noise of disgust.

“Another library?”

“Huh, what now?” Elena asked.

Brianna eyed the large spider webs hanging over the walls. Without thinking about it, she moved closer to Cullen, brushing her shoulder against his arm. He glanced down at her.

“You okay?”

“You keep asking me that.”

“Because I want to know that you’re alright.”

She grinned. “Aww that’s sweet.”

He watched her for a moment. “Well?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…really don’t like spiders.”

Cullen raised an eyebrow. “You’ll take on mercenaries and God knows what else, but you can’t handle spiders?”

Brianna shot him a filthy look. “We all have things we don’t like, Mr Can’t-Handle-the Ocean-Without-Hurling-His-Guts-Up.”

Cullen laughed. “I’m not scared of the ocean, though.”

“Shut up or I’ll be more tempted to shoot you than I am to jump you.”

His mouth gaped as his face flooded with colour. “I…wait,  _ what? _ ”

She grinned and stepped carefully away from the spider webs. “You heard me.” And she moved to stand beside Michaela, leaving him standing there suddenly unable to meet anyone’s eyes.

Drake walked past them all to a carving on the wall. “You know, this looks familiar…” he pulled out the diary and flipped through the pages, coming to a stop on a sketch of a torch on it. “ _ The inverted torch leads to the land of the dead. _ Huh.” He shoved the diary in his pocket and turned first one, then the other torch on either side of the carving, stepping back as it slid down to reveal steps leading down into a catacomb. Alistair clicked on his torch and shone it down the stairs.

Drake glanced at the others. “Well, this looks promising.” He reached for Alistair’s torch. “Here, let me see that.” He shone it down, stretching to try and see further into the passage. He turned back to the group. “Okay, you guys sit tight. I’m gonna check things out.”

As he made to step through the arch, Elena grabbed his arm. “Whoa whoa, wait. No, you’re not going out there alone.”

Alistair nodded. “Yeah, Roman’s men are swarming all over this place.”

Drake huffed exasperatedly. “Yeah, and one person’ll make a lot less noise than seven.” He sighed as Sully crossed his arms and met his gaze levelly. “C’mon, I’ll be fine. And you guys will be safe here. They don’t even know about this room.” He watched as they all exchanged glances. “Guys, don’t worry – I’ll be right back.”

“Why do I not believe you?” Brianna drawled.

Sully shook his head.

“Okay, but take one of these two,” he jerked a thumb at Alistair and Cullen, “with you. And a walkie.” Drake nodded and turned to the other men. Cullen glanced at Alistair before stepping forward.

“It’ll have to be me. Alistair’s back-”

“Isn’t as bad as everyone makes out!” Alistair interjected.

Drake shook his head. “He’s right. Stay here and guard the old man – make sure he doesn’t double cross us.”

“Jesus, Nate…” Sully handed Drake a walkie-talkie. “Leave it on channel 13 – they don’t use that one. And keep us posted.”

“All right, you got it.” Drake clicked the walkie onto his belt and pointed at the panel. “Close this thing back up once we’re through.” He turned to enter the passage.

“Nate,” Elena put her hand on his arm. “Be careful.”

He grinned at her. “C’mon. I always am.” And with that, he turned and smacked his head on the top of the archway. “Ow! I did  _ not _ see that coming.” As he ducked through the archway clutching his head, the others stifled laughs, closing the panel behind him.


	14. Going Underground

Drake shot Cullen a quick look. “Okay…Land of the Dead. Here we go.”

“Watch yourself.”

“Yeah,” Drake laughed nervously. “Kinda looks like the perfect spot for a horror.”

He led the way down the steep stairs into the first of the catacombs, a stone angel smiling horribly from a crumbling face. Cullen shone his torch around the room, reaching to pull a pistol from his waist. He pointed to the right.

“That way, I think.”

Drake walked over and hauled himself up onto the ledge, shining the torch onto the slick walls covered in moss as he waited for Cullen. Water dripped down, glinting in the light.

“Think there’s any treasure?” he asked.

Cullen frowned as he got to his feet. “Nothing but webs and moss.”

They continued through the passage, following it as a distant sound of running water steadily got louder. As they neared the end, the tunnel opened into an immense cavern, its vaulted ceiling soaring above the two men. Drake edged towards an immense chasm that spanned the width of the cavern, shining his torch into the murky depths. Across the gap, a river poured over the edge, racing along beside rough-hewn stairs and thundering into the dark. Beyond, light shone behind pillars, the harshness bright against the stark rock. Far below, something moved in the shadows, scuttling away through the lumps of fallen stones.

Drake glanced at Cullen before swinging himself down and edging along a ledge, making his way around. Cullen sighed and followed, making sure his pistol was secure in its holster before hauling himself along. As they moved, the rock beneath their fingers began to crumble and split, threatening to fall and take them down into the dark.

“Move!” Drake yelled, scrabbling for handholds. Cullen nodded grimly, noting the places that held under Drake’s hands. They moved, faster and faster as more of the ledge crumbled away. 

Drake made a final lunge, just catching hold of a giant stone slab and hauling himself up. Cullen grunted and followed him up onto the ruined floor, rolling quickly to his feet.  

Drake flashed Cullen a quick grin. “Made it!”

Cullen ignored him, nudging a human ribcage with his foot. He shone the torch along the floor, lighting on several other skeletal pieces. He frowned. “Do you think this was a torture chamber?”

Drake got to his feet and moved to stand by Cullen. “Maybe, but I don’t see any signs of it.” He picked up a spine. “These have…teeth marks.”

“They’ve been  _ gnawed _ on?”

“Yeah.”

“Cannibals?”

“Maybe,” Drake dropped the spine. “But usually there’s signs of butchering or cooking or something. These almost look ….”

“What?”

Drake moved up the stairs, carefully pulling a gun from where he’d stuck it in his waistband. “Well, like an animal’s been at them.”

Shots rang out around them and they ducked, rolling to press against pillars as mercenaries filed into the room. Drake dodged as a laser beam flew past. “More laser sighting, Cullen!”

Cullen aimed and shot two mercenaries, felling them immediately. “I had noticed.” He swung and fired as one man dove between pillars. The man fell with a grunt, his gun clattering away and over the edge. Drake snatched a grenade from his belt, hurling it between the last two men. He grinned as they shouted and scrambled to get away, tripping over the fallen stones. One glanced up, meeting his gaze just as the grenade detonated. 

As the dust settled, Drake moved to check the bodies for spare ammo, averting his gaze from the torso that lay crumpled against a pillar. Cullen glanced around the room and crossed to look at the stairs leading up in the middle. An iron gate sat smugly across the stones. He moved away, circling the room until he came across a winch at the back.

“Drake,” he called, “go stand by the gate. Shoot anyone that comes through it.” He began to haul on the winch as Drake moved into place. “You may need to hold it open for me to get through.”

Drake rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, figured as much.”

The gate creaked open and locked into place, not moving as Drake and Cullen climbed the stairs and made their way up into an enormous cathedral. Drake gazed admiringly around. Ornate carvings covered every pillar and the edging on the walls, depicting scenes of battle and worship. Elegant wrought iron candelabras stood proudly around the altar, their candlelight flickering over the mercenaries as they paced through the pews. Far above it all, the afternoon sun filtered through a beautiful stained glass window, casting rose and lavender hues on the broken stone floor.

Cullen motioned for Drake to hide behind the nearest pillar, pointing at the lasers attached to the mercenaries’ guns. As Drake disappeared behind the stone, Cullen crouched and made his way to the other side of the great church until he could stand behind the opposite pillar. He nodded to Drake and they both took aim, taking out four men before the rest could react. The room filled with shouts and gunfire as the guards scrambled for cover, yelling useless instructions as one by one their comrades fell. One launched a grenade, clearly hoping to catch Cullen unawares. The man screamed as the small bomb was hurtled back instantly, blowing him to pieces as the last of his men were dealt with. Drake stepped out from behind his pillar, shaking his head at the bodies strewn around.

“They just never learn.”

Cullen glanced at him before walking carefully up the aisle. “What?”

“Messing with us is suicidal.”

“How long have you been waiting to use that one?”

“Far too long,” Drake chuckled. He knelt, pulling one of the laser sighted guns from a dead mercenary. He sighted, aiming the red beam past Cullen to the altar. “Think this’ll come in handy?”

“No.”

“Oh yeah?”

Cullen picked up an identical gun and showed Drake the empty chamber. “Limited ammo, too difficult to get more.” He grimaced at the dead man by his feet. “And you give your position away.”

Drake dropped the gun back to the mercenary. “Fine, fine. I get your point.” He looked past Cullen and whistled. “Must’ve been a hell of a place back in the day, huh?”

“Hmmm.” Cullen glanced at the giant altar. “Where to now?”

He watched as Drake pulled out the journal. He moved further up the cathedral, still staring at the page. “I’m not actually sure….” He looked to the side, eyeing an ornate bell.  Another hung opposite it across the church. “Wait, there’s something about this.” He flicked through some more pages, landing on one with a sketch of the bells. “ _ Two bells resound in perfect harmony. _ ” He pulled out his gun.

Cullen raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

Drake shot him a quick grin. “Ask not for whom the bell tolls.” He shot first one bell, then the other, the gongs resounding through the enormous room. Behind the first one, an intricate carving slid down to reveal a dark passage.

“Yeah! Alright!” Drake cheered. He held up a palm. “High five, bro!”

Cullen stared at him before giving in and returning the high five. “Can we go now?”

“Whatever, dude. This day just became legend.”

“How so?”

“The others will never believe you gave me a high five.” Drake ducked through the doorway and started climbing down a rickety ladder. “ _ We got all the clues, right here _ ,” he said. “ _ We can do this kid. _ ”

Cullen shot him a look as he began to climb down. “Are you seriously imitating Sully right now?”

“Yeah, well. He convinced us to do this.” Drake jumped the last few feet, landing solidly on the stone floor. “How the hell does he think he’s gonna get the statue outta here anyway?”

Cullen jumped down. “Maybe he thinks your ego can carry it.”

“Cute,” Drake laughed. “Very cute.”

He led the way through the next doorway, jumping back as a mercenary came around the corner. The man shouted and pulled his gun, firing haphazardly in Drake’s general direction. Drake swung his gun up and shot the man twice before flinging Cullen an incredulous look. “Jeez, these guys are everywhere!”

Cullen clicked more ammo into his gun and swung it up as more shouts sounded. He fired as two mercenaries ran around the corner, dropping them like stones. Drake moved to press against a stone coffin, aiming around it as two more men ran in.

“How do I get myself into this crap?” He shouted.

“We’ve been asking the same question,” came Cullen’s droll reply.

The last of the guards fell and they continued through the catacombs, hauling themselves up through broken doorways and onto ledges until they found themselves in another giant, ruined cavern. Cullen frowned at the slabs of floor balanced precariously across the enormous gap but before he could say a word, Drake was leaping from one to the other, slipping occasionally but making his way steadily across. Cullen shook his head and followed suit, grasping the slick edges of the stones. He watched as Drake jumped the last little bit to some ruined stairs and began to climb up. Groaning, he forced himself to jump after him, the muscles in his back beginning to protest a little at the action.

Drake led the way up the stairs into a small room, holding up a hand at the sound of voices coming from above. Holding a finger to his lips, he moved to stand just below the grate in the ceiling.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Roman’s voice came through.

“What do you expect from me, Roman?” Eddy shouted. “My men are getting massacred!”

Roman chuckled. “I find it hard to believe that one man could wipe out your entire crew.”

Eddy moved into Drake’s sight, gesturing wildly. “It’s not just Drake,” he groaned. “He’s got those two…oafs running around with him. But even then they wouldn’t be able to do it, goddamn it!” He pointed back behind him. “I’m telling you, this island is cursed!”

A chair scraped back and Roman came into view. “Enough! Take your sorry mob and go.”

He turned away as Eddy’s face screwed up. “Wait…you can’t cut me loose!” He pointed at Roman. “You owe me a share of the gold!”

Roman’s voice was cold. “Your share, Eddy, was contingent upon you doing what I required. You assured me that Drake was captured and the island secure.”

“Oh, this is bullshit, Roman, and you know it!”

“We’re done here, Mr. Raja.” Roman moved out of view once more. Cullen and Drake exchanged a glance as Eddy stormed off. A cigarette bounced through the grate and landed on Drake’s face. He brushed it off quickly, flicking a glance at Cullen as if daring him to laugh. Cullen frowned slightly before pointing back at the grate.

“Remind me again why you employed that superstitious idiot?” Roman drawled.

Drake watched as Navarro stepped up to beside the grate. “You wanted someone cheap.”

Roman huffed, his voice tinged with humour. “Well, you get what you pay for, I suppose.” There was the scrape of a boot on stone. “What about you, Navarro? Are you worth what I’m paying you?”

“The vault’s here, I’m sure of it! If Sullivan can be trusted-”

“Which he can’t.”

Navarro sighed. “Look, he knows we’ll kill him if he’s lying.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Roman said. “He knows we’ll kill him once we find the treasure. He has no incentive to tell the truth. Really, Navarro. Sometimes I think you left your brains back in those slums where I found you.”

“I just need a little more time.”

“Chasing this treasure of yours is proving to be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“I assure you,” Navarro chuckled, “El Dorado is worth more than you can possibly imagine.”

“It had better be.”

Cullen motioned for Drake to follow him back out into the catacombs, leaping across to another tunnel and leading the way into a ruined crypt. Going up another set of stairs, he hauled on a rusted chain, edging a slab up the wall to reveal a doorway into an overgrown courtyard. Drake glanced at him as he ducked through.

“Eager to get out, huh?”

Cullen shrugged before ducking through after him. “There’s only so much a person can take.”

“Of me or the dark?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“….no.”


	15. On the Trail of Treasure

They headed on, making their way carefully through the ruins, alert for any sound or movement. Cullen sighed as they rounded a corner and came across a locked gate.

“Any way around it?” he asked.

Drake shielded his eyes against the sun’s glare as he scanned the decrepit wall. He pointed at a series of ledges. “Up there, along the wall…” He paused for a moment, weighing the odds. “…Swing on that vine – hope to God it holds us – across to the next lot of ledges, up to that window.” He glanced at Cullen. “Should be easy enough.”

Cullen’s mouth thinned, but he nodded grimly and reached to haul himself up.

“You want me to go first?” Drake asked.

“No.”

“Sure?”

“If I fall, it’s not going to affect much. If _you_ fall, it affects people’s paychecks.”

“Well, that puts me in my place.”

Cullen paused as he reached for the next ledge. “Look, I didn’t mean to sound…”

“Mercenary?”

Drake grinned as Cullen chuckled. “Funny. I just meant that you’d be the bigger loss.”

“Because I’m paying everyone.” Drake watched as Cullen grabbed the vine and swung to the next ledge before beginning to climb after him.

“Well, Sully’s technically paying us.” Cullen grunted as he pulled himself up onto the windowsill. He looked down as Drake swung across the wall. “You’d be missed more than me.”

“Not true.” Drake pulled himself up beside Cullen and sat catching his breath. “Alistair would miss you.” He grinned as Cullen snorted. “And Brianna would _definitely_ miss you.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Seriously. She’s got a major thing for you, man.”

Cullen turned away, moving to look through the window. “Uh…” He coughed slightly. “How are we going to get down?”

Drake twisted to look. “Easy. Same as we got in – down the ledges.”

“Great.”

They climbed down, dropping lightly to the ground just as a guard came into the ruined room. Cullen pulled his gun and shot him before moving to press against the wall just inside the door. He motioned for Drake to take the other side as more men ran into the old building. Shooting quickly, they took them out before they got too close, Cullen following Drake as he ran out into the entrance courtyard.

“Huh.”

Cullen glanced at Drake. “We’re going in circles.”

“No kidding.” Drake grabbed the walkie talkie as Sully’s voice crackled through.

_”Nate, do you read me.”_

“Yeah.” Drake gazed around the courtyard. “Sully, we’re just going in circles here.”

_“Well, the kids and I been reading some of the books down here and it looks like there’s some kind of secret gallery at the top of the church. Can you get there?”_

Drake looked at Cullen, who nodded. “Think so. Yeah.”

_“Alright. Give us a call if you find anything.”_

Clicking the walkie back onto his belt, Drake turned to Cullen. “So, which way’s the church again?”

They glanced around the courtyard, taking in the vines crawling over the walls and the grass sprouting through every crack. Cullen ran a hand through his hair and pointed to the left.

“I think it’s back that way.”

“Think?”

He shrugged. “It’s hard to be sure. The ruins are all starting to look the same.”

Drake laughed and made his way around to the left, Cullen frowning as he realised they’d once again have to climb. He stood guard as Drake hauled himself up onto a broken staircase before following suit, muttering to himself as they jumped across a series of broken planks to another wall. As Cullen watched, Drake leapt and grabbed a vine, swinging up to another set of ledges before climbing hand over hand along the wall to the broken window of the church, jagged shards of glass still gleaming with colours. Shaking his head, Cullen followed and soon found himself rolling through the window to land beside Drake in the upper gallery of the old cathedral. Drake put a finger to his lips and pointed silently at the guards patrolling at the other end of the landing. Cullen nodded slightly and moved to crouch behind a large fallen pillar. As Drake made to pull out his gun, Cullen waved slightly, indicating instead for them to take each of the guards out as quietly as possible. They moved, ducking quietly from pillar to pillar until they stood in position to grab them. Cullen moved first, grabbing his man from behind and snapping his neck with one swift twist. Drake grabbed the other as he turned to see what was happening to his comrade, rapping the man sharply on the skull with the butt of his gun. The guard’s eyes rolled back and he slumped to the floor without a sound. Drake gave Cullen a thumbs up before moving to look over the railing. Squinting at the far end of the church, he pointed at the intact stained glass window and pulled out the journal.

“Recognise that?”

Cullen raised an eyebrow. “If it’s something from that diary, then no.”

“Okay, first off, it’s a journal. And secondly, didn’t think you were gonna be a smartass.” Drake flicked through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He held up the sketch of the heart with two keys stuck through it. “See, matches the window.” He looked around the church. “Let’s get a closer look, huh?”

“Fine. Lead the way.”

Cullen followed as Drake made his way through the church, leaping from beams to ledges, moving swiftly as the old stone began to crumble under his fingers. Finally, they stood on a ledge in front of the window. Drake ran his hand around the edge.

“Well, there’s definitely a seal…” He peered around to the left and pointed at a key sculpture. “Okay, that looks like it’s part of this.”

“Very scientific of you.”

Drake chuckled at the dry response. “Don’t knock it if it works.” He pointed to the right. “There’s another one there, smartass. You go take care of that one, and I’ll grab this.” At Cullen’s nod, he leapt across to the platform beneath the left key, waiting until Cullen was in place across the room before pushing down. As both keys clicked down, the window opened, the glass swinging down like a drawbridge. Drake flashed Cullen a triumphant grin as the opening revealed a secret room.

“How’s that for science?”

Cullen gave him a flat look and climbed across to the opening. Drake followed him, watching as he pulled his gun.

“Who do think you think we’re gonna run into in there?” he asked. “Roman’s goons obviously haven’t found this yet.”

“Roman’s men weren’t the ones setting traps and eating people,” Cullen replied.

They moved slowly into the room, glancing around at the series of stained glass windows.

Drake frowned. “Huh.”

“What?”

“We need to find one with the secret symbol.”

“Really. Would this be a secret symbol drawn in your diary that you still won’t show me?”

“Ha ha, sarcasm.” Drake rolled his eyes. “I showed it to you before. Look for the heart.” He moved away, following the curve of the room until he spotted a window that matched the drawing. “Well, hello there…”

He pulled the window open and leaned out. Directly opposite was a mausoleum, the rusted heart symbol sitting squarely on the terracotta roof. Several mercenaries patrolled the cemetery around it. Drake groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Cullen moved to look out the window. “Damn.” He watched as two more moved to stand guard outside the door. Drake sighed and pulled out the walkie talkie.

“Hey, Sully.”

_“I’m here.”_

“Remember Roman and Navarro, and that _red herring_ you sent them on to get them out of the way?”

_“Yeah?”_

“Well, they’re sitting right on top of the treasure vault.”

Cullen cursed as Sully’s voice came through at them. “ _Of all the goddamn luck…”_ There was muffled voices as the others started talking.

Drake cut through it all. “Look, we’re gonna need a diversion to get them out of there.”

_“You got it, kid. One diversion coming right up.”_

Brianna’s voice sounded faintly in the background. _“I got this.”_

Cullen took the walkie from Drake. “And Sully-”

“ _Yeah?”_

“Once they’re gone, meet us in the mausoleum.” He glanced at the mercenaries below them. “But come through the catacombs – it’s safer that way.”

_“Gotcha.”_

He clicked the walkie off and handed it back to Drake before scanning the cemetery.

“Think we can make it past the goons without being noticed?” Drake asked.

Cullen frowned and crouched down below the windowsill, leaning against the cool stone as he checked the number of bullets he had left. Drake eyed him for a second before sitting down beside him.

“I take it that’s a no.”

Clicking the magazine shut, Cullen glanced at him. “It’s unlikely. I’d say try and take out as many as possible quietly before we get noticed.”

“So, the old sneak attack?”

Cullen shrugged. “You could call it that.” He stood and looked out the window. “It’s a pity we haven’t picked up a sniper rifle somewhere. Then we could pick them off from here.”

Drake glanced out the window. “Yeah, but then I’d feel bad for taking out that guy over there.” He pointed across the courtyard at a guard with his back to them.

“Why?”

“It’s just seems wrong to kill a guy when he’s either drinking or taking a piss.”

Cullen rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get down there.”

They swung out the window and climbed swiftly to the ground, dropping lightly and moving to crouch behind a broken stone fence. They peered over at the oblivious guards.

“Okay,” Cullen whispered, “I’ll go down there and try and take as many out as possible. You cover me from up here. Got it?”

“Got it.”

Drake watched as Cullen ran lightly down the ruined stairs and ducked behind a boulder, coming up behind one of the armed men. A quick twist and the man’s neck was snapped, and Cullen disappeared into the undergrowth. He reappeared further around to the side, materialising behind another guard and clamping a strong hand over his mouth, dragged the man silently into the bushes. Moments later he was behind another guard, rapping him on the temple with the butt of his pistol. Drake watched, incredulous as Cullen made his way through the cemetery, dropping half the guards in a matter of minutes.

An explosion ripped through the air, rattling through the stones around the courtyard. The guards spun, swinging their guns up and aiming towards the right, trying to locate the cause. There was a shout as a mercenary caught sight of Cullen and fired an M79, missing him by a mile. The man didn’t have time for another shot as Cullen’s bullet lodged in his brain. The other men spun around wildly, firing at nothing as they frantically tried to locate him. Drake took out a couple of them, ducking as their fire turned on him. He swore as a grenade hurtled his way, diving behind a fallen pillar just before it exploded. Below him, shouts and groans filled the air as shot after shot was fired. Drake rolled to his feet and fired into the fray, taking note of where Cullen crouched behind a boulder. As he looked on, one of the mercenaries made the foolish mistake of throwing himself over the boulder in an attempt to tackle Cullen. A short tussle later and the man lay dead, blood flowing from the cut in his throat as Cullen spun to drive his knife into another man’s chest. Drake fired a final shot and the last man fell, the gunfire echoing away into nothing.

Cullen knelt to wipe his knife on the grass before slipping it back into the sheath on his belt. Rolling the mercenaries over, he took their guns and any extra ammo, before standing to face Drake. Drake stared at the bodies, his gaze flicking between the dead men and Cullen’s carefully blank face.

“How…?” He shook his head. “Nevermind. Let’s go find the others.”

Cullen nodded and shoved a new pistol into his belt, slinging a rifle over his shoulder. He caught Drake’s eye as the other man glanced at him sideways. “What?”

“Nothing.” Drake held up a hand. “I just…never saw so many taken out like…well, like that.”

“I did what I had to.” Cullen stepped around him and headed towards the mausoleum.

“Yeah, but…where did you learn that?” Drake waited a moment but no reply came. “Oh, I get it. You’re not going to tell me.”

“Perceptive.”

“What were you? FBI? KGB? Oooh, no, I got it – James Bond!”

Cullen glanced over his shoulder and continued up the stairs. “You have an overactive imagination.”

“Ha, next you’re going to tell me that I imagined it all.”

“If it gets you to shut up.”

Drake grinned at the impassive back in front of him. “You’re gonna have to tell me, y’know. I’m not gonna drop it.”

“Ask Sullivan.”

“Wait – _Sully_ knows?” Drake asked disbelievingly.

“Yes.”

“ _HOW?!_ ”

“I told him.” Cullen scanned the cemetery before moving cautiously up the next set of ruined stairs.

“But you won’t tell me.”

Cullen huffed in exasperation. “There is nothing really to tell! You already know I was in the army – I learnt those skills there.”

Drake frowned. “Alistair was _also_ in the army. I haven’t seen him do anything like that.”

“He has the same skills as I do. There just hasn’t been the same need for him to use them because we were in a larger group, dealing with a smaller number of adversaries.”

“Fine. I’ll believe it when I see it.” And with that, Drake strode past Cullen and pushed open the doors to the mausoleum. He grinned when he saw the others standing in the middle of the room. “Hey!”

Elena grinned back. “Hey.”

“I knew you could do it, kid,” Sully laughed. He lit another cigar and gestured around the room. “So, what’s next?”

Drake shrugged. “I don’t know. Kinda figuring this out as I go.” He glanced around the room. “This is definitely the right place, though.” He frowned and moved over to a set of carvings on the wall. “Wait a second, it’s something to do with these symbols…”

All around the room were carvings and symbols set into the wall. As the others watched, Drake pulled out the journal and frowned as he flicked through the pages.

They spun as the door opened, Alistair and Cullen reaching for their guns.

Brianna held up a hand and grinned. “Hey! Don’t shoot the diversion artist!” She shut the door behind her and strode over to Michaela. “Come on, high five me!”

“Glad to see you didn’t blow yourself up.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.” Brianna glanced at the hand she still held up. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging.”  
Michaela grinned and returned the high five. “Got the destruction out of your system now?”

“Nah. Never.”

Drake looked up from the journal. “That reminds me - I got a high five from….wait for it... _Cullen._ ”

“Sure, dude.” Brianna drawled. “And I’m the Queen of England.”

“Swear to God, it’s the truth.” Drake glanced over at Cullen. “Tell them.”

“Tell them what?”

Drake narrowed his eyes. “Really? You’re gonna play dumb?” He held up a hand. “Fine. People never believe legends anyway.”

Alistair raised an eyebrow. “Says the guy looking for _El Dorado_.”

“Shut up.” Reaching out to the nearest carving, Drake rotated it slightly, clicking it into place before moving to the next one. He rotated each symbol, locking each into place so that they matched the sketches on the page. As the last one clicked in, a section of the wall slid away to reveal another secret passageway.

Drake laughed. “Now, looks like we’re in business.”

Alistair eyed the dark opening suspiciously. “What is about this place and all the secret tunnels? It’s like we’re just asking for trouble.”

“Nah, you’re just imagining things.” Drake brushed several bones onto the floor. He laughed again and chucked a skull at Alistair. “Heads up!”

Alistair pulled a face and dropped the skull, nudging it away with his foot. Drake climbed through the archway, shining his torch around the burial chamber as the others followed him through. Sully poked his head through the hole.

“Whaddya make of it?”

Drake shook his head, running a hand over the walls. “I dunno, could be a dead end.” He flashed the torch around as they moved across the room.

“No pun intended,” Alistair snickered. The girls laughed as Cullen hid a small smile.

“Wait,” Elena said, “looks like there might be a passage this way-” As she stepped forward, something clicked and the entire room began creaking. She spun around. “Uh oh.”

A grating sound filled the air, the wall around the archway beginning to shake. Sully paused halfway through the opening. “What the hell’s that?”

Drake swore. “Sully! Get outta there!”

“Huh?”

“It’s a trap!”

Alistair shoved Sully back through the archway into the mausoleum before the wall slammed down, trapping them in the small chamber. Drake grabbed the walkie talkie from his belt.

“Sullivan, are you okay? Sully?!”

There was a pause before Sully’s voice crackled through. “ _Yeah, yeah, fine. Still in one piece. Alistair knocked me on my ass though.”_

Drake laughed shakily. “Yeah well, you better get back to the library.” He glanced around at the others. “We’re gonna have to find another way outta here.”


	16. The Treasure Vault

Michaela glanced up at the ceiling, then at the impregnable walls. “Guess the only way to go is forward, huh?”

Alistair slung an arm around her shoulders. “Think of it this way – we’ve already had the romantic stroll through a ruined city.” He gestured grandly at the stone walls around them. “This is just the next step - like that tunnel ride at a carnival, only through the dim and stinking underground.”

“How nice,” she replied flatly.

Brianna rolled her eyes. “Guys, I’m not gonna be an awkward sixth wheel.” She shot Cullen a sly look. “Although, we could make this a triple date.”

He frowned and ducked into the next passage, steadily ignoring the look Drake gave him. Alistair took Michaela’s hand. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

She nodded grimly as they followed the others down the slick stairs into the dark. The passage opened out into an enormous room, stone walkways crisscrossing over the cavernous space. Elena gazed around in awe. “What is this place?”

“A really elaborate way to hide the damn treasure!” Drake said as he grabbed an ancient torch from the wall and lit it.

Cullen stepped around an old drain, gripping his gun as he glanced around. “Any idea which way to go?” He asked.

Drake shrugged and shook his head. “Spread out, see if you can find anything.”

They moved apart, running their hands over the walls and tugging at old statues. Michaela frowned as Alistair jumped down from a ledge. “I don’t get it – there’s gotta be something.”

He pulled another torch from the wall, striding over to light it from Drake’s. “There will be.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“There always has been.” He paused for a second, frowning up into the dark recesses high above them. Michaela glanced up before looking back at him.

“What is it?”

Alistair gazed upwards, eyes still scanning. “Nothing…I guess.” He looked back to where she was standing. “Hey, do you think that could mean something?” He pointed beside her feet to a tile set into the floor. The Roman numeral V stood out in sharp relief. Michaela knelt beside it and waved Drake over.

“Any good?” she asked.

“Huh – wait a second…” Drake pulled out the map and gazed at it, pointing to three numerals marked in the top right corner. “Yeah, there’s some marked here. It’s gotta be it.” He headed off down the path marked with the V, following it until he found a tile marked with a II. An arrow pointed across a gap to a central platform. “That’s the way to go.”

Elena looked at the gap and stepped back slightly. “I’ll stay here and keep a lookout while you figure out how we’re gonna get across, okay?”

Drake shrugged. “Fine, you all wait here and I’ll be right back.” He jumped across the gap and climbed up to another platform, following tiles marked with the V symbol. Cullen sighed and jumped after him, edging along the ledges as they slowly made their way up to an old waterwheel. Drake paused, swinging his gun up as something crawled quickly out of sight across the cavern, too fast for him to take a shot. He glanced at Cullen. “What was that?”

“I…don’t know. Let’s just get moving and get back to the others.”

Drake turned back to the waterwheel, putting his hands on his hips as he gazed at the old mechanism. “This has gotta be good for something…” He grabbed hold of a massive lever. “Here, give me a hand with this.”

Cullen placed his gun back in his holster and moved to stand beside Drake. They pulled the lever down, using their weight to haul on it. All around them, waterwheels began to move. Drake grinned as Elena’s voice came echoing over to them.

“Nate, did you do that? Things just started moving down here!”

He leaned over to wave at her. “Yeah!” Turning back to Cullen, he jerked his head towards the tiles. “Come on, these have to lead to something.”

“Isn’t that why we’re following them?”

Drake gave him a blank stare. “….Yeah.” He led the way back across the path, following the arrows as they pointed up to another walkway. He grabbed a rusted chain and hauled himself up hand over hand, before following the next path through an archway and leaping across to another set of broken stairs. He pulled out the walkie talkie and tried to get hold of Sully, swearing as only static came through. Clipping it back onto his belt, he motioned for Cullen to follow him and kept going.

Back down with the others, Michaela sank down to lean against one of the pillars. Alistair glanced at her. “You all good?”

She waved away the question. “Yeah, fine. Just don’t know how long we’re gonna have to wait, that’s all.”

Brianna raised an eyebrow as she took in the dampness of the stones. “So you’re happy to sit in a puddle until Drake gets back?”

Michaela chuckled slightly. “Yeah, but I don’t really notice anymore. We’ve been in that many caves…” She trailed off and frowned as Alistair rolled his shoulders, wincing slightly. “Let me have a look at those cuts.”

He shook his head, still alert for any movement from the recesses around them. “Nah, they’re fine.” Something shifted above them and he swung the gun up, aiming into the dark. The others turned to look, curious as he slowly lowered it again.

“What is it?” Elena asked.

“I don’t know…” Alistair frowned. “I’ve got that weird feeling of being watched again…”

“Hey!” Drake called. They all looked up to see him waving from high above them. “I made it!”

Elena waved back. “Hey, be careful! That thing doesn’t look very safe…Nate!”

Drake’s arms wind-milled as the platform gave way beneath him. Elena gasped as he fell, grabbing at several ledges to slow his fall until he landed with a thump on a lower pathway. He got to his feet and waved again.

“It’s alright!” He yelled. “I’m okay!”

Above him, Cullen appeared at the edge of the crumbled platform. He shook his head and began to climb down. Alistair chuckled.

“What’s the bet Cullen’s frowning and muttering something along the lines of  _ unreliable, scatter-brained nitwits _ etc etc?” he asked.

Michaela laughed and moved to stand behind him. “A fair one, I expect. Now,” she twirled a finger, “Let’s have a look at those cuts.”

He sighed and lifted his shirt. “You know, if you wanted to get my clothes off…”

“Pretty sure we’ve had this conversation - and I wasn’t the one who ended up blushing.”

“Right…”

Drake waited until Cullen reached the walkway before moving off again, jumping across several platforms to reach a rickety wooden lift. He tapped it with his foot before stepping into it. It creaked but held as Cullen joined him. Drake offered him a shaky grin, laughing slightly as he reached for the controls. Before he even touched it, the lift gave, dropping swiftly and slamming to a stop on the next floor.

“WHOA….okay.” Drake glanced around, spotting a barred window set high in the wall. As he watched, the bars slid up, disappearing into the wall. Footsteps sounded behind him and the others appeared, Alistair straightening his shirt as he brought up the rear. Drake raised an eyebrow.

“Annnd, what have you been up to, hmmm?”

Brianna rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Michaela checked the cuts again. They didn’t have time for anything else before we heard you scream.”

Michaela blushed slightly as Drake frowned. “I did not scream.”

Cullen glanced at him. “You did.”

“Did not.”

The flat look levelled at him had Drake raising his hands slightly. “I’ll admit to a very manly yell, nothing more.”

“Whatever, dude,” Alistair grinned. “We all heard it.” He glanced up at the open window, then along the walkway to a closed gate. “Any way we can get that open?”

Drake shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” He climbed up to the window and dropped down onto the other side. As he straightened up, something white leapt across a gap on the other side of the room. “What the hell?” He shook his head and glanced back to where the others watched him through the bars of the gate. He moved along the walkway and climbed a chain to another lift, narrowly missing tangling his feet in some abandoned rope. As he stepped cautiously in, the lift creaked.

“Oh no…” Before he could move, it fell. “ARRRGH!”

As it crashed to a stop, he stumbled forward, out onto the walkway just as the gate opened. The others walked through, coming to stand in a circle around him as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. To his right, a bridge dropped down, leading up to the next platform. Alistair clapped him on the shoulder.

“Still a scream, man.”

“Whatever.” Drake straightened and led the way up the bridge. They froze as an explosion ripped through the cavern, the burst of it shining bright above them. As the smoke cleared, Eddy and a couple of guards stepped through the broken doorway. Drake frowned as Eddy spotted him.

“Hey,  _ bule _ ! Last man alive gets the gold! You lose!” Eddy laughed and waved his gun at his men. “Kill them all.” He disappeared through another doorway.

Alistair clipped more ammo into his gun and pushed Michaela behind a pillar. “This just keeps getting better and better.”

She gave him a small smile as she pulled out her own gun. “You don’t say.”

The group began to fire, taking out the mercenaries as they appeared on the walkways. Brianna laughed shortly as one threw a grenade which slid past them all and into the giant hole surrounding them. “Who put that dickhead in charge?” An explosion sounded far below. She held up a finger. “You had one job, dude. One job.”

Cullen glanced at her as he shot another guard. “Are you seriously joking right now?”

“Oh yeah.” She fired off another couple of shots. “Joking or flirting?”

“What?”

“Joking or flirting? Take your pick.”

“How about shooting?”

She laughed again. “Multitasking. Women are great at it.”

They fired simultaneously at the same guard, felling him with two shots to the head.

“Ah, our first kill together.” She clicked more ammo into her gun and grinned up at him as his face coloured slightly, before moving away to fire around another pillar.

Finally, the shootout came to an end as the last of Eddy’s goons fell into the pit. Brianna rifled quickly through the ones lying on the paths, taking ammo and anything else she thought might be useful. Drake did a fast headcount before pointing to a ladder hanging halfway down a wall.

“Okay, it looks like that might have some kind of mechanism up there.” He swung himself up onto the ladder and climbed to the top, winding it down for the others. As they ran through another doorway, Alistair eyed the rickety platforms all around them.

“I hope this leads somewhere.”

Drake glanced back at him. “Let’s just try it.” He led them up a spiralling staircase, gun in hand ready for Eddy’s men. At the top of some spiralling stairs, they entered a circular room. Around the walls were alcoves, a few skulls resting in them. Michaela raised her torch, moving slowly into the room. The light shone on all the empty spaces, a few dusty cobwebs hanging drearily down.

“There’s nothing here, Drake.”

He sighed. “This is getting so old.” He moved further into the room, running a hand through his hair as he stared around. Elena stepped forward, her torch lighting the furthest side, flickering over a desiccated corpse propped against the wall. Drake frowned and walked over to kneel in front of it.

Elena followed him slowly. “Nate…?”

He didn’t answer her, just knelt there staring at the corpse. Michaela walked over to stand beside him.

“It’s Sir Francis,” she said quietly. “He never found it. He just…died here.”

Drake snorted and took off the ring around his neck. “So much for  _ greatness _ . Wasted his life…for nothing.” He dropped the ring on to the floor in front of the corpse. Elena glanced at the others before placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

“Nate? Are you ready to get moving?”

He got to his feet, carefully not looking at the corpse. “Yeah…more than ever.”


	17. The Heart of the Vault

“There’s gotta be a way out of here,” Elena said. She pointed to the ledge above them. “It looks like there’s a ladder up there. I think I can reach it if you give me a boost.”

Drake nodded and crouched below the ladder. Elena climbed onto his shoulders and stretched, hauling herself up onto the rungs. She climbed, making her way quickly to the top.

“Looks like an old hoist or something!” She called down to them. “There’s a rope – I’ll try and lower it down to you!”

Alistair glanced behind him as shrieks sounded outside. “Uh, hurry it up!”

Elena disappeared from view. “Oh, I see a tunnel – we can get out this way!”

A rumbling filled the air and they spun to see Eddy and a guard backing slowly into the room. The men swung their guns up to aim at the newcomers.

“Hello, boys,” Drake drawled, keeping his gun trained on Eddy.

Eddy and the guard spun quickly, fear written all over their faces.

“Easy, Eddy,” Drake said. “Easy.”

Screams came from outside, abruptly cut off by a guttural growling.The sound filled the room, seeming to come from all sides.

Drake frowned at Eddy. “What the hell’s going on out there?”

Eddy’s voice was shrill with panic as he began to wave his gun around wildly. “Didn’t you see them?!”

“Oh no…oh God,” Eddy’s guard began to moan as the growling got louder. “No…no!” He screamed as something leapt from one of the holes in the floor, gripping him with misshapen white arms and dragging him back into the hole.

“We’re trapped!” Eddy shrieked.

Drake stared at the hole. “Jesus, what is that?!”

Eddy began to gibber. “We’re dead! We’re all dead!”

Alistair and Cullen stepped in front of the girls, shuffling them back towards the middle the room as more creatures crawled into the room, lumbering towards the group. Grimly, they began to fire into the horde, keeping the girls behind them. Eddy and Drake stood back to back, swearing as they fired into the never-ending mass.

“Drake,” Eddy said. “If we don’t make it out of here, I just want you to know – I hate your guts.”

“Yeah, likewise pal.” Drake took aim again. “Now, let’s do this.”

The six of them fired at the monsters, taking down as many as they could.

“What the hell is going on down there?!” Elena yelled.

Michaela glanced up. “Just get the fucking rope down here – _fast_!” She fired as one creature leapt at Alistair, dropping it before it could sink its claws in. He nodded his thanks and shot one as it leapt from a pit.

“Damn!” came Elena’s voice. “It’s totally rusted – it won’t move!”

Cullen fell as one of the creatures tackled him, moving too fast for him to fire. He rolled with it on the floor, straining to keep its teeth from ripping into his neck. Brianna spun and sunk a hefty kick into its side before shooting it. She reached down and swiftly pulled him to his feet.

“Thought I’d lost ya for a second there!”

“You almost did.”

He grabbed his gun and began shooting again. Michaela fired beside Alistair, taking the creatures out one by one until she’d emptied the gun. “Oh shit!”

“My knife!” Alistair yelled. “Grab my knife!”

She wrenched the knife from the sheath on his belt, ducking as he fired a shot off over her head. He glanced at her. “Stay beside me, and if anything gets too close, stab the bastard!”

She nodded and grimly hung onto the knife, kicking out at the creatures that got too close while Alistair kept up a constant hail of bullets. She glanced around, noting the gun the guard had dropped.

“Alistair!”

“What?”

“Can we get to that gun?”

He glanced in the direction she pointed and shook his head. “No. Stay in the group. We’ve got a better chance that way.”

She nodded, watching carefully as he fired again and again. She glanced up at Elena still struggled with the rusted mechanism. “Elena?!”

“It’s stuck!” Elena yelled back.

The horde began to thin as less and less monsters crawled in, shots taking them out until at last only one still stood, hunched on the edge of a pit.

Eddy angrily fired several shots at it. “That’s right, you ugly _konyok_!” He waved the gun as the creature fell back into the hole. Laughing manically, he walked across to peer after it. “Don’t mess with Eddy Raja!”

A claw shot out and grabbed hold of his shirt. Eddy screamed and struggled, thrashing about wildly as the monster tried to pull him into the pit. Drake spun around.

“Eddy!” Glancing around, he ran towards the struggling man. “Hold on, Eddy!” He grabbed hold of Eddy and tried to haul him back out of the hole, shooting one of the creatures in the face as it tried to crawl out. Eddy screamed as a second creature bit into his neck, the two of them plunging into the pit as Cullen dragged Drake back.

Alistair swore as they all backed toward the centre of the room, Michaela snatching the dead guard’s gun. They were outnumbered on every side as more and more creatures began crawling into the room. The air filled with growls as they began to circle.

Drake groaned. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me…” He looked up. “Elena! HURRY UP!”

“Hold on, Nate!”

He shook his head and began to fire as the creatures leapt towards them. One of the creatures dove at him and he rolled, kicking it and sending it careening back into the pit it crawled from. Another leapt at Alistair, just missing him as he shot it through the head.

One hit Michaela from behind, tackling her and knocking her to the ground. She cried out as its weight pinned her down, dripping teeth inches from her face. Forcing her arm out from under her, she gripped the knife and plunged it into the creature’s neck, stabbing it again and again as it howled. Then it was gone, ripped away by a furious Alistair. Hauling her to her feet, he shoved her behind him and shot the monster through the head.

“I got it!” Elena yelled. “It’s moving!”

The rope snaked down, the end swinging into the midst of the group. Cullen glanced up and grabbed Brianna. “Climb! Now!” She nodded and began hauling herself up. Alistair pushed Michaela towards it, shooting the creatures while she climbed. He shot Cullen a look and they both shoved Drake towards the rope.

Once he was at the top, Alistair nodded to Cullen. “Go! I’ll hold them off!”

“The hell you will! With your back-”

“Get up the damn rope!” Alistair yelled. He shot two more creatures. “My back means I’d hold you up if I went first. Stop arguing and climb!”

Cullen nodded once and, shoving his gun into his belt, began to climb swiftly while Alistair fired into the horde. Reaching the top, he yelled back down. “Grab the rope!”

Alistair glanced up and leapt, hauling himself up as fast as he could, ignoring the pain as his wounds pulled open. He jumped to the landing where the others waited and pointed to the tunnel. “Go!”

They ran into the tunnel, growls echoing around as the creatures gave chase. Cullen fired off a couple of shots but it did nothing to slow the monsters down. They raced along the passage, hurtling through a metal door at the end. As Alistair jumped through the opening, Drake slammed the door and swiftly shot all the bolts home, locking the creatures outside.

Elena bent over, gasping as she glanced at Drake. “What the hell were those things?!”

He backed away from the door as the creatures thudded against it. “I don’t know. I don’t know.” He turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Nate…”

“Okay, I don’t think they can get through this.” Drake staggered away, moving to lean against the wall.

“Nate…”

He glanced at her. “What?”

Elena gestured at the empty room. “Where are we?”

They all looked around, taking in the concrete floors and walls, the rusted instrument panels lining the walls, the large windows looking out into an enormous sea cave. Drake shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

He sank down against the wall, leaning his head back against the concrete as he tried to slow his breathing. Michaela glanced at Alistair, frowning at the fresh blood seeping through his shirt.

“You’ve opened the cuts.”

He twisted to try and look before shrugging. “To be fair, they were already open.”

She shook her head. “Let me see.”

Alistair sighed and tugged the shirt off over his head, turning so his back faced her. “How bad?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Guess not.” He hissed as she wiped gently at the cuts.

“Sorry.” She paused and shook her head again. “There’s really not much I can do. I’m sorry.”

He turned back to look down at her. He tilted her chin up so she met his gaze. “It’s fine. They’re old news. What about you? Are you okay? Did that thing-?”

Michaela shrugged. “Just a few scrapes and bruises. Nothing major.”

“Good.” And with that he leaned forward and kissed her gently, sliding his hand to cup her cheek. Pulling back, he grinned down at her. “Needed to do that before we run into those things again.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Might not get another chance.” They spun as more thuds and growls came from the door. It shuddered but held. Alistair raised an eyebrow. “And I think that just made my point.”

Elena moved to look at some old papers on the table in the middle of the room. Cullen had already walked once around the room and was now standing by the window, frowning down at a rusted U-boat below them. Brianna strode over to Cullen and looked out.

“Well, that explains the U-boat in the Amazon.” She glanced out another window at the sun setting over the sea and grinned up at Cullen. He watched her suspiciously.

“What?” he asked.

“Great first date, huh?”

He glanced back at Alistair and Michaela. “They seem fine with it.”

“I wasn’t talking about them.” She winked up at him. “But on our next one, let’s try and avoid the zombies and guns, ay?”

“… _Our_ …next one?”

“Don’t get me wrong –the sunset’s nice and usually the idea of being alone on a deserted island…maybe we should just try a dinner or something.” She shrugged. “Keep it simple.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I…um…”

Elena waved them over to the table. “C’mere and look at this.”

Cullen heaved a sigh of relief and moved back towards Elena, avoiding Brianna’s grin.

“I get the feeling you’re avoiding me” she called after him.

He shook his head, crossing his arms and gazing down at the table. As they crowded around, Elena pointed to a picture of El Dorado, and the sketch of a building beside it.

Drake chuckled slightly. “They found it…they must’ve broken into the vault and cleared it out.”

Michaela picked up the sketch. “Yeah, but what’s the monastery got to do with it?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know…it doesn’t make any sense. If that’s where the statue is right now…” he tapped the sketch. “Oh man, we were right on top of it!”

Ignoring the excited conversation, Brianna wandered over to a rusted lift in the corner, rattling the bars across it. She stepped back and put her hands on her hips. “I bet this’ll take us to the surface.”

Drake moved to stand next to her, pressing a button on the wall. Nothing moved.

“Guess the Nazis didn’t pay their electric bill,” Alistair said.

Running his hands over a map on the wall, Drake glanced back at the others. “You know, I bet if we can make it to the generator room, here-” he pointed to the detailed floor plan of the building “-we could get the power turned back on. We just gotta find a way out of here first.”

Brianna frowned for a minute before glancing out the window. Striding back to the table, she heaved a heavy box up.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Drake asked. “What are you doing?!”

She flung it through the window, shattering the glass. Glancing back at him, she dusted her hands off. “Found a way out.” She leapt across to an old pipe and clambered up it to an old maintenance walkway. She waved down to them. “Come on! It’s easy enough.”

Cullen smiled, shaking his head before leaping across and climbing swiftly up the pipe. Brianna patted his arm as he got to his feet. “Told you it was easy.” She leaned over the railing again. “Come on, Alistair next!”

He sighed and climbed onto the instrument panel, wincing as the movement pulled at the cuts. He jumped and soon stood with the others on the walkway.

“Nice.” Drake climbed onto the old instrument panel and leaned out the broken window. “All right, let’s go.” He started to climb out.

Elena held up a hand. “Nope, this one’s all you, cowboy.”

“Whaddya mean?”

She gestured at the gap between the window and the pipe he was aiming at. “Nate, you know I can’t make that jump.”

Drake dropped back down to the floor. “There is no way I’m leaving you here alone with those things.” He pointed at the door.

“We don’t have a choice!” Elena gestured to the others. “Just go turn the power on, come back and get me, and then we’ll get the hell out of here. Okay?”

“But-”

Michaela cut in. “I’ll stay with her. Between us, we’ve got a couple of guns and a knife. Just go.”

Drake sighed and started climbing out the window again. He turned to look back at Elena. “I will be right back.”

She smiled. “Yeah.”


	18. The Bunker

“What?!”

Drake held up his hand as Alistair stepped towards him. “Alistair, look-”

“Look?  _ Look?! _ You can’t leave the two of them there  _ alone! _ ” He shoved past Drake and grabbed the pipe. It creaked, the iron fastenings coming loose as he put some weight on it. Drake grabbed his arm.

“It’ll give way if you put more weight on it!”

Alistair shook him off. “It held us before.” He swung down off the path, putting his full weight onto the pipe. It groaned and came away from the wall. Cullen grabbed Alistair and hauled him back onto the metal grill just as the pipe gave way completely, the broken pieces tumbling down to land with a crash far below. Brianna raised an eyebrow.

“Hold us, huh?”

Alistair glared at her. “I’d have thought  _ you _ would be a bit more worried.”

She shrugged. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Michaela can shoot stuff.  _ And  _ she’s more accurate than Drake.”

“Hey!”

Brianna glanced at Drake. “Sorry, but it’s true.” She looked back at Alistair. “They’re locked in, the zombies can’t get through that door and even if they could, it’s a skinny little door – they’d have to almost file in and she could easily shoot them one by one.” She glanced along the walkway. “Besides, the sooner we get moving, the sooner we get back. So, hit Drake later. Let’s go.”

She led the way across the maintenance path with Drake in tow. Cullen glanced at Alistair.

“She’s right.”

“Yeah, I know.” Alistair frowned, glancing back at the control room. “I just...don’t like the idea.” He shook his head and followed Brianna. She led them across, swinging easily along old pipes as if they were monkey bars and dropped lightly to another platform on the other side. Putting her hands on her hips, she peered into the dark passageway before them.

“Anyone got a light?” she asked.

Drake fumbled around and produced a small pocket torch. Clicking it on, he whistled slightly. Before them, the path had broken, leaving a gap of around two metres across a shadowy chasm. He glanced at the others. “We can make that, right?”

Alistair leaned over the edge, peering down into the dark. “Yeah, I think so.” He took a few steps back then ran and leapt across, landing squarely on the other side. Drake followed him across and turned to look back. Brianna eyed the gap.

“Well, here goes nothing…” She got a run up and leapt, hand stretched to catch the edge of the path. She grunted as she hit, fingers grasping the metal as her feet dangled in empty space. And then strong hands were pulling her up and onto the walkway until she stood beside Alistair and Drake, breathing heavily as she tried to slow her heart. Glancing back across, she could see Cullen’s face had gone white, the strain lit up by Drake’s small torch. His eyes met hers and, when she gave him a thumbs up, he jumped, landing neatly on the path beside her.

Drake checked the ammo in his gun and glanced down the tunnel. “Let’s get moving. I really don’t want to run into any more of those…things.”

He led the way down the passage, their guns held ready. Water dripped from broken pipes, running down the walls and under their feet. The air was chill and heavy. Something clanged in the distance, and everyone tensed.

The walkie talkie crackled, Sully’s voice not quite breaking through the static. Drake grabbed at it.

“Sullivan, come in.” More static. “Ah, it’s no use. Can’t get a signal in here.”

He shone the torch along the passage, the thin beam barely going more than a few feet. Rubble loomed at them as they made their way through, stumbling past broken pipes and stones. Cullen grabbed Brianna’s arm as she tripped.

“You okay?”

“Fine. Thanks.” She shivered and peered into the dark. Reaching out a hand, she found his arm, warm and solid. “I can’t even see you.”

“I’m still here.”

“Good, cause I’m not letting go anytime soon.”

He laughed slightly. “Okay, then."

Drake held up a hand as they approached an open door, the torch lighting on broken chairs and trolleys. “What the hell happened here?”

Alistair nudged a chair with his toe. “At a guess? I’d say it had something to do with the zombies.” He spun as growls filled the air. Creatures lumbered around the corner, shrieking and groaning as they raced towards the group. Alistair swung his gun up, firing alongside the others as the horde came closer. Monsters fell, trampled under freakish feet as a storm of bullets flew around them. As the last one leapt, Alistair fired, lodging the bullet deep in the creature’s brain.

“Come on!” Drake yelled, racing into another passage. He led the way through the tunnels, shooting anything that ran towards them until finally they reached another room. Giant machines lined one wall with huge lines running from them and out into the rest of the building. Drake ran over to one of the machines, hauling on the handle in front of the giant turbine. It clicked over and began to whirr, lights flashing above the doors as the power surged back through the bunkers.

Drake wiped his brow on his sleeve. “Thank God.”


	19. Unwelcome Guests

Brianna glanced across the room as the doors opened. As she watched, something moved in the dark, feet padding closer. She nudged Cullen and pointed. He swung his gun up, training it on the door as a growl rumbled towards them. The other two spun to look, raising their guns as they all stared into the shadows. Drake swore.

“Here we go again.”

The creature leapt out, falling as Cullen’s bullet found its brain. It was followed by more, far more than in the other room, a mass of monsters flooding in and surging towards the group. Brianna fired, taking one out as it thrashed towards her. Directly opposite her, a green exit sign flashed, the light flickering over the closed door and the lines running from it on both sides.

“Cullen!” she yelled.

He threw her a quick glance. “What?”

She pointed at the door, still firing at the creatures. “That’s our way out!”

“It’s shut!” He fired to the left, felling a creature as it leapt towards Drake.

Brianna shook her head. “There’s lines running from it! I bet they lead to switches to open it!”

Cullen glanced at the door, noting the pipes leading away and around the corner. He nodded and yelled to Alistair. “We need to split up!”

Alistair threw him an incredulous look. “What?!”

“The door over there!” Cullen gestured with his gun. “We need to open it!” He fired off a couple more shots. “There’s two sets of lines running from it – you follow the ones on the left, I’ll take the ones on the right.”

“And hope to God they lead to something that opens the door, huh?” Alistair kicked a monster away and shot it. “Okay! I’ve got Drake, you’ve got Brianna? Right! GO!”

They split up, Alistair yelling to Drake to follow him as they raced along beside the lines, following them around the corner and up onto a ledge. Hauling themselves up, they found themselves cornered against the concrete wall, a rusted metal fence stretching up to the ceiling on one side. Through the bars, Alistair could see Cullen hauling Brianna up onto a similar ledge on the other side of the room. The creatures were flinging themselves against the concrete, reaching up as they were shot down. Drake glanced behind him.

“There’s a lever here!”

Alistair fired into the midst of the monsters. “Pull it then!” He swore as a creature tried to grab his ankle, kicking it in the face and shooting it. Drake hauled the lever down as, on the other side of the room, Brianna did the same. More lights flashed and Drake whooped as he saw the exit slide open. They leapt off the ledges, running for the door as more creatures piled in from the other side. The monsters gave chase as the group ran for the exit. Cullen shoved Brianna through and turned to fire, covering the others as they skidded through. He jumped after them, and they slammed the door, locking the creatures in.

Alistair fought to catch his breath as he glanced at Drake. “You know? This is turning out to be a  _ really _ lousy day.”

Drake laughed breathlessly. “You don’t say.” He straightened up. “How much ammo have we all got left?”

“Not nearly enough,” Cullen said. He frowned at them. “I don’t think we’d make it through another fight like that.”

“Good to know.” Brianna clicked more ammo into her gun and held it ready. “Let’s try and get out of here asap.”

Drake nodded and took the lead, shining the torch along the silent corridor. Hunched shapes lay against the walls, moss starting to creep over their grey uniforms, the red, white and black swastika almost eaten away. Bone glinted in the torchlight, glistening as water dripped through ruined ribcages, skin stretched tight into a silent scream. Brianna stepped closer to Cullen, brushing her arm against his as they followed Drake’s tiny beam of light into a dark, abandoned room.

Light flickered as an old projector clicked over, a black and white film showing  _ El Dorado _ on the wall. Alistair frowned at it, glancing at the reel still playing. A soldier jumped close, his face filling the screen before it pulled back. He was chained to a wall, shrieking and waving his arms uncontrollably. As the others watched, Alistair rifled through a series of photographs and papers on the table next to the projector. Nudging Cullen, he held one up, showing him the photo of two soldiers next to the statue. Cullen frowned and reached for one of the papers.

“ _ My end is near…the devils hunt for me in the darkness. _ ” The others turned as he read. “ _ The gold of El Dorado bears a terrible curse: the Spaniards have unleashed hell, and become as…demons. _ ” They glanced at the soldier still waving his arms on the video projector. Drake took the note from Cullen.

“ _ My men have all been murdered, leaving the task to me alone. No ship will depart this island: I destroyed them all, and drowned the cursed city. A thing of such great evil must never leave these shores. In my final hour, I commend my soul to God. May He have mercy on this unholy place.”  _ He looked at the others. “ _ Francis…Drake. _ ”

Cullen looked at the film again. “My God…”

Drake clicked off the projector, watching as the film coiled to a stop. Skitters sounded in the sudden silence. A single growl. He swung the torch round as eyes appeared in the dark. “Oh no – not again!” He fired as the first one leapt, sending it crashing to the floor. Beside him the others opened fire.

Creatures dropped from the ceiling, monstrous shapes outlined in the flickering lights.

The group inched their way across the room, kicking away any creatures that got too close, as they made their way over to the exit. Drake hauled on the wheel as the others fired at the monsters.

Brianna yelled as one grabbed her, dragging her backwards towards the horde, her knife making little difference as she plunged it into the creature’s shoulder. Cullen spun around and sent a bullet through its head. As the creature collapsed, he grabbed Brianna, hauling her through the door and slamming it shut.

Along the tunnel, light shone from another control room, the other two men silhouetted against the setting sun. 

Brianna grimaced as she glanced at her feet, the grasping hand of the corpse still wrapped around her ankle. Kicking it away, she looked up at Cullen, hiding a smile as she took in his dishevelled hair.

“So, we make a deadly couple.”

“Sorry?”

“You and me. Deadly couple.”

Cullen stared at her, mouth slightly open, face turning red. “I…uh…are you… _ flirting _ with me?  _ Now?! _ ”

“…Yeah. Have been all day. Am I doing better than the corpse?” She nodded at the sprawled creature by her feet.

He rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting her eyes.  “So, it’s…lovely weather we’re having.”

Brianna quirked an eyebrow. “We’re in a bunker.”

“…yes…well…the sun’s shining out there.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said.

“What question?”

“Corpse or me? Decide.”

He gave her a small smile. “Well, the corpse flung itself at me.”

“I didn’t think you liked loose and rotting women.”

Cullen laughed slightly.  “Well, when you put it that way…”

He checked the ammo in his gun before shoving it back into his belt and glancing down the now empty tunnel. Brianna watched him for a moment before bending to pull her knife from the corpse. Wiping it on her shorts, she stuffed it back into the belt slung round her waist. Cullen jerked his head towards the tunnel.

“Come on. We should get back out there. God knows how many of those things are still down here.”

She nodded, following him through the shadowy passage. Looking up, all she could see was his broad back, silhouetted against the light flooding in. She sighed.

“Y’know, I’ve given up on getting an answer. If you ever decide, send it via pigeon.”

Cullen laughed again. “I’ll do that. Just don’t kill the messenger.”

“Fine. I won’t kill it – if it’s good news.”

“That’s….not reassuring at all.”

“Really? I thought it might have helped.”

“…let’s just…get back to the others.”

“Fine. I’ll just hang back here and admire the view.”

“….what view?”

“The rusty pipes and slime covered walls.”

“Really?”

“No.”

They walked in silence for a moment, the tunnel getting brighter the closer they got to the end. Brianna glanced up and smirked.

“Cullen?”

“What?”

“Are you…blushing?”

“What!? No! I mean…why would you ask….no.”

“The back of your neck’s gone pink.”

“Has not.”

“Has to.”

“Has…I’m not playing this game.”

“But it’s so much fun!”

“For  _ you _ .”

Brianna made a noncommittal noise.  “Come on, Cully Wully. Play the game!”

“No. And don’t call me that.”

“What? Cully Wully?”

“Is this still you flirting?”

“Am I doing any better?”

“Honestly? No.”

“Still prefer the corpse then, huh?”

“I never said I prefer the corpse!”

“Aha! So you did pick me!”

“I….look there’s the end of the tunnel.”

“Don’t go towards the light, Cullen!”

“We have to. The others are out there.”

“I thought you had a sense of humour.”

“I do. It’s just…not as weird as yours.”

“Hurtful, Cullen. Very hurtful.”

“I’m sorry, I… uggh just get out of the cave.”

“Next time we’re alone in a dark room, I’ll make like a corpse and throw myself at you.”

Cullen gaped as Brianna snickered and slipped past him, out into the control room. He cleared his throat and followed her out to where the others sat waiting. He took in the grins on their faces and groaned.

“Ok, how much did you hear?”

“From about,  _ hurtful, Cullen _ I think,” said Alistair. “What on earth did you do?”

“Oh, he didn’t hurt me,” Brianna laughed. “But we did determine he’d rather fuck a corpse.”

Cullen’s face flamed, as the others both turned to him. Drake’s eyebrows shot up as Alistair doubled over laughing.

“I never…that is…” Cullen stammered.

Brianna flung him a glance and turned to Alistair.

“Lovely weather we’re having today,” she grinned.

Cullen turned even redder as Brianna winked and sauntered over to the window. Shielding her eyes against the sun’s glare, she looked across the cavern to the first control room. “Shit.”

Over the other side, Roman stood grinning through the window. Beside him, Navarro stood holding Elena. Drake stared as Roman leaned forward and tapped the microphone.

“Can you hear me in there?”

Brianna snorted. “Yeah, loud and clear, jackass.”

Roman smirked. “Oh, no microphone on your end? What a shame.”

Elena shoved an elbow into Navarro’s side, breaking free to grab the microphone. “Nate! Get outta there before-”

Navarro grabbed her hair, yanking her back against him as he slammed a fist into her side. She doubled over, gasping and coughing. Drake beat his fist against the glass.

“Leave her alone, you sons of-”

Roman turned to Navarro and sighed in exasperation. “If you can’t keep control over one small girl…”

“It won’t happen again.” Navarro pulled out a gun, pressing the barrel against her skull. “Trust me.”

“See that it doesn’t.” Roman turned back to look at Drake. “I’m sorry for the interruption. I just wanted to thank you for leading us to  _ El Dorado _ .” He held up a map and waved it.

Drake swore. Roman glanced at Elena. “Oh, I hope you don’t mind if we borrow these two for a little longer.” One of the mercenaries hauled Michaela into view, forcing her to stand swaying beside Elena. Blood caked the side of her head as she glared at Roman. “Just to discourage you and your little thugs from trying anything creative.” He smirked again. “So long, Nate. It’s been fun.”

Drake banged on the window as Roman left, his goons dragging the girls with them. He spun as something grabbed him, a fist smashing into his face. He staggered back against the instrument panel as Brianna raised her fist again. Cullen grabbed her arm.

“Come on! Cut it out!”

“Did you  _ see _ her, Cullen?!” Brianna shouted. “She’s covered in blood!”

“I saw. Now get a hold of yourself.” Cullen glanced back at Drake. “Get up and get moving. You’ve been hit by worse.”

Drake rubbed his jaw and straightened up. “You know, I’m not actually sure I have.” He glared at Brianna. “Why the hell did you hit me?!”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she spat, “maybe it has something to do with you leaving them behind with no guard? And now my sister has been beaten and is being held hostage!”

“Yeah well, Elena’s been caught too! And besides,  _ you  _ were the one that said they’d be fine! That Michaela could shoot anything that came through that damn door!”

“Elena’s not covered in blood though, is she! Which means my sister tried to fight them off without any fucking help!” Brianna spun around and jabbed a finger into Cullen’s chest. “And next time he fucks up? Don’t even try to stop me.”

Cullen frowned. “I don’t believe you.”

“Oh yeah? I’ve been killing things all fucking day. Taking down Drake? No problem.”

Alistair rolled his eyes and stepped between them. “How about instead of arguing, we go and actually  _ rescue _ them? Get over yourselves, get out the damn door and find the bastards.” He glared as they all stared at him. “ _ MOVE!” _

Brianna shoved past, grabbing a couple of grenades from a table and ducking out the door. She swung her gun up as a guard ran around the corner, shooting him before he could react. Alistair followed her down, his mouth set in a grim line. He fired quickly at two men that ran up the stairs, dropping the pair before Cullen and Drake could raise their guns. Brianna stepped over the bodies, fingers clenched around her gun. To their left, a growl rumbled along the tunnel as one of the creatures crawled out of a pipe. As it lumbered towards them, another guard ran round the corner, straight into the monster’s path. It had him before he could scream, sinking its teeth into his neck and dragging him into a nearby drain.

Drake took the lead, running through a series of utility tunnels, shooting the occasional monster as they tried to attack. Running into a large room, they skidded to a stop. Mercenaries were firing wildly at a horde of creatures, shouting desperately as they tried to get away. Cullen pointed up to a metal walkway above the chaos. Alistair hauled himself up, reaching down to pull Brianna up after him. Drake climbed up, followed by Cullen. Crouching down, they filed along the walkway, watching the losing battle. Both sides were hit hard, but the mercenaries seemed to be winning. Brianna put a finger to her lips and pulled the pin from a grenade, biffing it down into the middle of the fight. Men and monsters went flying. Cullen and Alistair opened fire until finally the last one fell.

“Come on!” Alistair hissed. “Move while it’s clear!”

They dropped from the platform and took off, hurtling past the bodies and out onto the abandoned quayside. Cullen cast around, his gaze landing on a ladder running up the wall.

“Over here!” He grabbed Brianna and pushed her towards the ladder. “Drake, you go first, Brianna - you follow, and then Alistair.” He fired as another creature dropped from a pipe and ran towards them. “Go!”

Drake leapt onto the ladder, climbing as fast as he could. Brianna flung Cullen a worried look then grabbed the rungs. Cullen kept firing until Alistair was clear then followed him up. Something small and black hurtled past him and he glanced down in time to see several monsters blown clear as they scrabbled around the ladder. Looking up, he saw Brianna pull the pin from another grenade and drop it. She met his gaze and gave him a shaky grin.

“Come on, Cullen! Race you to the top!”

He grinned suddenly and climbed faster, clambering out to stand beside them in the jungle once more.


	20. Race to the Rescue

As they made their way back through the jungle, Drake pulled out the walkie talkie.

“Sully – are you there?” He hit the machine. “Damnit –Sully, come in!”

The radio crackled. “ _T_ _hank God, Nate –where are you?”_

“Heading your way.” Drake glanced around at the undergrowth and the scattered rocks. “Sully, they’ve got Elena – we have to stop ‘em.”

“ _Got problems of my own. Bastards have me pinned down outside the church.”_

“Almost there.”

Gunshots echoed through the jungle. Drake shot a look at the others and took off, racing towards the sound. They clambered up some ruined steps and dropped down into the overgrown courtyard. Cullen motioned for Alistair and Drake to go left before heading around to the right. Brianna followed him, holding her gun ready as mercenaries appeared from behind pillars. Across the courtyard, Alistair fired at a guard, dropping him instantly. Drake threw a grenade into the centre, blowing up a couple of men as they tried to get a clear shot at him. Brianna fired, rolling away as a grenade came her way and shooting the guard. She got to her feet and ducked back to Cullen.

“I’m gonna try and get to him,” she said, indicating the mercenary with an RPG. Cullen flung her a sceptical look.

“You’ll get yourself killed.”

“Not if you distract him long enough.”

She turned and began to make her way towards the guard, using the rubble and foliage as cover. Cullen shook his head and moved so the guard could see him, firing before the man could swing the giant weapon up. The man’s face disappeared as the bullets hit, and he dropped like a stone, the RPG rolling away into the bushes. Cullen watched anxiously as Brianna snatched it up, heaving it onto her shoulder and aiming it at a group of men as they ran towards Drake and Alistair. The men disappeared as the missile detonated in their midst, a giant crater appearing where they had stood. As a hand landed near Cullen, Brianna shot him a triumphant look. He rolled his eyes and walked over to join her in the middle of the courtyard. Sully got to his feet from where he’d crouched behind the crumbling fountain. He gave Brianna an appraising look.

“Nice one, kid!”

Drake strode up, Alistair not far behind him. “Sully, we gotta stop ‘em. They don’t know what they’re dealing with!”

Sully held up a hand. “What are you-?”

“I don’t know how, but that statue destroyed the whole colony, and it killed the Germans too.”

“Whoa, come again?”

“There’s no time!” Cullen cut in. “We have to get to the church.”

Drake nodded and led the way up the stairs to the giant church doors, shoving them open. They ran in, firing at the mercenaries that patrolled in amongst the pews. The men yelled and ducked, trying to get out the way as the group took them out one by one until at last there were none left. Drake ran up to the altar.

“Come on! There should be a secret passage under here!”

He braced himself against the stone, pushing against it with all his strength. Alistair and Cullen joined him, pushing until at last it scraped back to reveal the secret passage. Alistair leaned over to peer into the inky depths. At the bottom lay several skulls and bones tangled in cobwebs.

“Well, onward then.”


	21. Gold and Bones

They dropped down into another dark passage, guns held at the ready as they followed Drake’s thin beam of light. Sully peered around Alistair’s broad back as they moved off in single file, stepping carefully down some slick stairs.

“You wanna tell me what the hell’s going on?”

Drake glanced back. “Sir Francis didn’t want to get the treasure off the island, Sully. He was trying to stop it from leaving.”

“What?”

Alistair flung a look over his shoulder. “It’s cursed or something.”

“Oh, Nate, for God’s sake…” Sully shook his head.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy,” Drake said. “You just gotta trust me.”

He led the way through the damp tunnels, further into the catacombs. Rats ran out of an alcove, dodging the light beam as the group strode through. The tunnel opened out into a burial chamber, remains in every alcove. Alistair made a sound of disgust as he walked into a rope that clattered with bones.

“I have never understood why they felt the need to thread people’s heads onto ropes.”

Brianna laughed slightly. “Macabre décor?”

“To say the least.” He glanced at her. “You’re suddenly cheerful again?”

She shrugged. “It’s kinda my way of coping. Besides,” she raised an eyebrow at him. “We’ll get them back. Even if we have to kill every damn monster or mercenary that comes our way.”

Alistair nodded grimly. “Count on it.”

Drake led them across the chamber and down another flight of stairs, winding their way further into the labyrinth. Drake held up a hand as they neared an opening, slowing their steps as the tunnel opened out into a vast treasure room. Crouching down, they shuffled forward until they could peer down over the ledge. Below them stood Roman and his goons, staring up at the giant statue of  _ El Dorado _ . Michaela and Elena stood by Navarro, his gun aimed at them. Alistair gripped his gun. There was a scrape behind them and Roman turned. He laughed as four mercenaries stepped up behind the group and trained their rifles on them.

“You should realise by now,” Roman drawled, “that I plan for every contingency. Now,” he pointed at their guns, “drop your weapons. Down there.” He nodded at the water below the ledge. “No heroics, please. Or I will kill them.” He aimed his own gun at Michaela and Elena.

Drake frowned and dropped his gun into the water, the others quickly following suit.

“Good. Now, if you’ll just hang tight,” Roman turned back to the statue. “We’ll be with you in a moment.” He ran his hands over the shining gold surface, trailing his fingers through the intricate carvings. “It’s magnificent. The craftsmanship…I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Navarro grinned at him, and gestured at the statue with his gun. “That is only a shell. The real treasure of  _ El Dorado _ lies inside.” He chuckled at Roman’s curious glance. “Open it.”

Roman prised the door open, hauling it wide to reveal a twisted and rotting corpse. Dust billowed from the corpse’s mouth, sweeping out to surround Roman as he inhaled and began to cough. Navarro grinned again, leaning to murmur something in Elena’s ear.

Roman’s coughing got worse as he slammed the statue shut, falling to his knees gasping for breath. His whole body convulsed and he began to growl. Spinning around, he focussed on Navarro. Blood and saliva ran from his mouth as his eyes turned black. Snarling, he staggered towards Navarro. As he got close, Navarro raised his gun and calmly shot him, sending him flying back with a hole between his eyes.

He kicked Roman’s corpse. “ _ Adios, jefe _ . So little imagination.” He laughed and gestured to one of the mercenaries. “ _ Bajen la red _ !”

The man nodded and began calling to the other mercenaries, issuing commands as a large net dropped down over the statue.

“Navarro!” Drake yelled. “That thing wiped out an entire colony. You don’t know what you’re doing!”

“Wrong!” Navarro shouted back. He gestured around him. “I’m the only person on this island who knows what the hell he’s doing!” He turned to a mercenary. “ _ Cargue la estatua. Cuidado _ !” Two mercenaries began to shift the statue, readying it to be hauled out the top of the giant cavern. Navarro glanced back at Drake and the others. “You are so pathetic, all of you scrambling around for your petty treasures.” He pointed at the statue. “Do you have any idea what this is worth, to the right buyer?” The mercenaries finished securing the statue. “ _ Levantenlo _ !”

The sound of a helicopter filled the cavern as it hovered outside. The ropes went taut, straining around the golden statue. A snarl rolled through the cavern, echoed by many more. Navarro grabbed Elena and aimed his gun around the cave.

“What the hell is  _ that _ ?” Sully exclaimed.

Drake exchanged a look with the others as dozens of creatures crawled into the cavern, scrabbling down pillars and walls from the ceiling. Navarro cursed and began to drag Elena across the cavern to a set of stairs. Another mercenary grabbed Michaela and followed.

“Jesus, what are those things?!” Sully yelled.

Drake glanced at him. “It’s the Spaniards, Sully. They never left.”

The cursed Spaniards began attacking the mercenaries, filling the air with growls and screams. Cullen and Alistair spun, wrestling the guns from the stunned guards and flinging the men down into the chaos below them. They threw a gun to Drake and another to Brianna.

“Cullen, if that thing gets off this island…” Alistair eyed the statue.

“We have to stop him.”

They began firing at the Spaniards and mercenaries, racing down the stairs into the fray. Sully stayed on the ledge with Brianna, covering them as one by one they took out the mercenaries. Cullen grabbed one and snapped his neck before flinging him away and firing at the next. Another rushed towards Alistair, a knife clenched in his fist. He didn’t land a single blow before Alistair brought a knee up into his gut, slamming his fist up into the man’s face as he doubled over. Blood sprayed from the mercenary’s nose. He glared up at Alistair, and staggered towards him, his face barely registering surprise when the bullet found his brain. Drake glanced over as Alistair spun to plunge his knife into a man’s neck before kicking the body away and firing at a Spaniard. Cullen intercepted the glance and raised an eyebrow. Drake nodded and held up a hand before firing once more.

Elena screamed as Navarro dragged her up the stairs, kicking out at his legs. Michaela flung her head back, smashing into the mercenary’s face. He grunted, loosening his grip for a second. She twisted, lashing out as she tried desperately to reach for his gun. The man’s fist connected with her skull and she saw stars. Below them, Alistair bellowed and started carving a furious path to the stairs. 

Drake ran across the room as Navarro and his goon disappeared with the girls, dragging them out to the waiting helicopter. Alistair fired quickly, taking out a Spaniard as it leapt after them and waved Drake on. “Get going or we’ll lose him!” He grunted as another monster tackled him, straining to keep his face out of reach of its snapping jaws. Drake swore and stopped, aiming his gun.

“GO!” Alistair shouted, and drove his knife through the creature’s eye. 

Drake sprinted, reaching the top of the stairs in time to see the helicopter take off, lifting the statue with it. He swore and jumped, not letting himself think about it. His hands scrabbled on the statue, fingers hooking through the net as he clung, swinging under the belly of the helicopter. As he rose up, he glanced back to see Alistair and Cullen still fighting madly, making their way back to Brianna and Sully on the ledge.

The statue cleared the top of the cavern, rising up through the old cemetery. A guard patrolled through the graves, languidly lighting a cigarette. He glanced up as Drake flew past, the cigarette dropping from his open mouth as Drake saluted him. Grabbing his walkie talkie, the man began to speak rapidly into it.

Inside the helicopter, Michaela glared as Navarro smirked at her and picked up the radio, listening to the panicked babble crackling through it. His eyes widened and he leaned to look out the window, swearing as he caught sight of Drake. He gestured to his mercenary, who nodded and leaned out the side, firing at Drake as he swung back and forth on the statue. Drake ducked, unable to fire back as the mercenary laughed. Michaela twisted and, as the man turned back to look at her, kicked him in the face. He screamed as he fell, firing off several accidental shots. The pilot slumped suddenly, blood seeping from the bullet hole in his chest. Navarro yelled and tried to take control of the helicopter as it began to spin. Michaela grabbed Elena as she fell back, dragging her away from the open door. Hauling on the controls, Navarro managed to straighten enough to fly towards Roman’s boat. Drake watched as they got closer and closer, letting go as the statue flew across the deck. Rolling to a stop, he stared in horror as the helicopter crashed down.  Metal screeched as it skidded across the deck, coming to a stop as it dangled over the edge of the helipad. Drake swore and ran towards the wreckage. Flames licked at the edges, flickering around Elena as she lay unconscious in the helicopter. Michaela lay unmoving on the deck. Navarro staggered out, clutching his head. He spotted Drake and waved the gun unsteadily at him.

“ _ Matenlo _ ! Kill him!” He swayed forward, stepping over Michaela’s body. His furious eyes focussed on Drake as he swung the gun up, keeping it trained on him.


	22. The Showdown

Drake fired off a couple of shots before ducking down behind a crate. Navarro advanced, holding up a laser-sighted rifle. “Come on, Drake. Time to die.” He chuckled.  “Nowhere to hide now.” He fired suddenly, shooting a barrel to Drake’s left. The explosion knocked him to the floor, his gun flying from his hand to skitter over the side into the ocean.

Drake stared after it. “Shit.” He ducked as Navarro fired again, rolling behind another crate. Watching carefully as the other man advanced, Drake dropped out of sight, moving swiftly between the crates to come up behind him. Grabbing him, Drake threw a punch, blood spraying as he broke Navarro’s nose. As the other man’s hand came up to clutch his face, Drake kicked him, making him double over before shoving a knee up into his face, knocking the gun from his hand. It slid across the deck to rest beside a crate. Navarro grabbed Drake with bloody hands, head-butting him and knocking him to the ground. Kicking viciously at Drake, he dove for the gun, grasping it and spinning to aim. Drake’s fist crashed into Navarro’s face, dropping him like a stone. He lay unmoving as Drake stood over him, panting.

Behind him, the helicopter creaked. Drake spun. “Elena!”

He ran to the helicopter, ignoring the flames as he tugged at her. “Oh, God…Elena!” He dragged her from the burning machine, holding her up as she gained consciousness. She looked up at him groggily. “Nate?” She glanced down. “Oh God, Michaela!”

Dropping to her knees she rolled her friend over. “Come on, wake up!” Elena shook her, grabbing her shoulders and slapping her face. “Come on…”

Drake knelt beside her. He took in the battered face, the blood still clotted in Michaela’s hair. He shook his head. “Elena…”

“No! She can’t be…”

Michaela coughed suddenly, rolling onto her side. “Jesus, Elena!”

“Oh thank God! I thought you were dead.”

She squinted up into their worried faces. “Did you check to see I was breathing?” She laughed shortly as they exchanged sheepish glances. “That’s what I thought.” Michaela pushed herself up, getting slowly to her feet. Elena pulled her into a hug.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Michaela shrugged. “More or less.” She glanced behind them. “Uh, Drake?”

They spun as Navarro staggered to his feet. Drake pushed the girls to one side and pressed his shoulder against the helicopter. As he shoved, it scraped off the helipad, teetering on the edge before crashing into the sea. Drake turned back to Navarro and gave a mock salute. “Adios, asshole.”

The rope around the statue whipped across the deck, snaking around Navarro’s leg and dragging him with it. He screamed and clawed at the planks as the helicopter dragged him and  _ El Dorado _ into the sea.

Michaela stared after him, watching as the trail of bubbles slowly disappeared. “Hell.”

A horn sounded and they turned to see Sully waving from a small boat. Alistair stood in the back, watching as Brianna cleaned a long cut on Cullen’s arm. Elena waved to them then turned back to Drake.

“Well, quite a day, huh?”

He chuckled as he leaned against the railings. “Yeah, yeah, save the world, triumph over evil – pretty typical.”

“Really,” Elena laughed. She moved to stand beside him as the moon rose over the sea. Drake glanced at her and then back at the island.

“It’s a shame we’re leaving empty-handed, though.”

She dug around in her pockets. “Oh well, you know…I did manage to save one small thing.” She held up his ring on its cord, dangling it in front of his face. She looped it around his neck. “Here, I…I thought you might miss this.”

He smiled down at her. “Thanks.” He leaned forward, tilting her face up towards his.

“You two got a funny idea of romantic.”

Everyone turned to stare at Brianna as the boat pulled up alongside the ship. She stared back and widened her eyes. “What?”

Drake laughed and nodded to Sully. “Wow, you – you look like hell.”

Sully rested a shotgun against his shoulder and pulled out a cigar. “You should see the other guys.” He patted the side of his boat as the others all laughed. “Got us a ride.”

Elena exchanged a glance with Drake and Michaela. She pointed at the ship they stood on. “Uh, we already have a boat.”

“Yeah,” Drake said. “Big boat.”

Brianna laughed. “You know, I think I like this one better.” She whipped a cover off to reveal several crates of gold and treasure stacked on a pallet. She grinned as the other three gasped.

“Beautiful!” Drake grinned. “Where’d you get it?”

“Borrowed it off a couple of pirates who were too dead to care,” Brianna smirked. “Now, which one you gonna choose?”

“No two ways about it,” Drake said as he jumped over the rail into the little boat. Alistair reached to help Michaela down. Gently, he touched the blood caked into her hair.

“You okay?”

She smiled and shrugged. “Yeah.” She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. “It’s only a cut.”

Sometime later, they were out to sea, with the island a dark shape squatting on the horizon under the stars. Drake wandered to the edge of the boat and leaned on the railing, staring back the way they’d come. Elena moved to stand beside him.

He glanced at her, then back at the island. “Sorry you didn’t get your story.”

“Ah, that’s all right. There’ll be other stories.” She looked up at him. “You still owe me one.”

Drake grinned and put one arm around her. “I’m good for it.”

Brianna glanced at them, then back at Cullen. “Hell of a first date, huh?”

He eyed her suspiciously. “For who?”

“Pretty much everyone except Sully.” She shot him a mischievous look.

Cullen laughed shortly. “I can tell you, if I was on a date, it wouldn’t involve curses and zombies.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She bent to run a hand over the treasure. Picking up a gold necklace, she held it for him to see. “Think it’s cursed?”

“No.”

She dug around a bit more and pulled out a gold tiara. She cut her eyes to him. He got to his feet quickly. “No.”

She advanced, grinning at him. “Come on, Cullen. It’ll look pretty!”

“No….I said…Jesus, woman, how’d you move so fast?! No!”

The others turned to see Brianna push Cullen back down, seating him on the crates beside the treasure. Gold glinted in his hair as he glared at them all.

“Not a word, Drake.”

Brianna collapsed into giggles as they all turned back, hiding their grins as Cullen glowered. He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned close, the smallest of smirks dancing across his mouth. “I’m not going to forget this.”

She raised an eyebrow and smirked right back. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done! For now at least haha   
> Thank you to everyone who's read this and for the wonderful comments - they really make my day :) 
> 
> Big shout out to my sister, Brianna - who you have all gotten to know quite well. Not kidding, she's actually like that and sat by me while I typed, throwing all her dialogue my way. Cue Cullen's blush.
> 
> Thank you again :)


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